Mind Rape
by Amid Much Hysteria
Summary: In a turn from the Buu saga, Goku is absorbed and Vegeta is the last defender left to face Buu. However, with his latest and most drastic transformation, Buu does not simply want to defeat the prince. With a new Buu in town and no Goku, who will stand up to take the role of Earth's hero?
1. The Curiosity

**The Curiosity**

Vegeta landed in a grove of thorns. When he opened his eyes moments later, he could see a large spot of light from where he'd been thrown through the great dome of twisted reeves. To his discomfort, he'd landed on a giant, flat boulder. The light from above acted as Spotlight on his large, rock mantel making the prince look like a sacrifice being offered to the gods.

Vegeta's head lulled around blearily and his body ached from the battle he was very badly losing. Since Buu's last victim, it was clear that whatever shred of a chance Vegeta might have stood before was now completely obliterated.

Before the prince could even begin to stand and prepare himself to take his next beating, Buu appeared again. In a flash, he was standing at his splayed feet. Vegeta, who had done nothing but get thrown around for the passed half hour, was not alarmed by his opponent's punctual return. However, what did alarm him was the sudden violent rippling of the tyrant's pink skin. Vegeta watched with weary interest as tentacle-like appendages began to burst from the creature's form like a dozen frenzied snakes. In a split second, the thick, rubbery bands wrapped themselves around his limbs and bound him in his prone position on the boulder. For moments, Vegeta did not struggle. Instead the trapped Saiyan began to chuckle to himself- coughing up specks of blood in the process. Although his body was worn and broken, Vegeta was not beyond appreciating the consummate beating he was being dealt by this creature who hadn't even broken a sweat in the process. Vegeta realized that in a small and morbid way, he had finally beaten Kakarot- even if it was only because he had avoided getting killed first. During what was surely the last few moments of his life (in which, Vegeta would spend getting thrown around and stomped on), the prince was finally the most powerful Saiyain alive. Unfortunately, given the circumstances, he could hardly soak in his long overdue triumph over the infamous Kakarot, but he could certainly appreciate the irony of it. If no one else was around to laugh about it, the prince of Saiyans still had the presence of mind to.

Vegeta heaved another painful chuckle. Buu, who had been nearly forgotten, looked down on what was probably a perplexing sight.

Vegeta was suddenly struck with the hollowness of the situation. For the first time that he could recall, he was badly losing a battle and no one was around to either mock him, pity him, or offer him aid. His self-deprecating laugh died slowly as he pictured the would-be reactions of the people he had come to know best; the people who were no longer with him: Gohan, with all his father's self-righteousness, would pity Vegeta and scold the prince's pride for not accepting assistance; Kakarot would go so far as to step in, and even further as to save his life as he'd done so on many occasions in the past; and Piccolo would... well, Vegeta had never quite had a handle on Piccolo. But none of them were there now and so no one- neither enemy nor reluctant friend- would see him fall. While this might have come as a comfort to Vegeta in another life, instead a feeling of utter aloneness overtook him. Wherever the others were now- dead or trapt in the innards of Buu- he wasn't sure, but he could guess that he was about to join them. And he was surprised that this realization _did_ bring him a small bit of comfort.

As a thick strip of Buu slithered it's way around his neck, Vegeta decided that if he would die- and this was looking increasingly likely- it would not be without a Saiyan-worthy fight. He almost laughed again, both hating his pride and grateful to it at the same time. The pinned Saiyan kicked his legs and thrashed his arms and he could swear he surprised Buu with the sudden outburst- the tentacles were all but thrown off. Buu must have realized then that the prince still had some defiance left to be squeezed out of him, his many tentacles worked even quicker and wound themselves more tightly around Vegeta's limbs and midsection. All the while Buu's arms rested leisurely at his side, as if to further bring home the fact that this was hardly an effort for him. Vegeta grunted and yelped as he was engulfed by the many extremities of Buu. For all his mighty efforts, the tentacles seemed to restrain him with all the more ease.

When it looked like the feisty Saiyan's rage was well smothered, Buu closed the gap between them again. However this time, Vegeta couldn't help but notice an odd air to the creature's closeness. As Buu hovered near his captive, his face became illuminated in the heavy spotlight. Vegeta's struggles began to fade away as he looked into the deep, crimson eyes of his opponent. Buu's eyes had undergone a change since swallowing his last victim, a change that made the hollowness return to Vegeta's chest. The stupidity and juvenile arrogance that had once defined the pink features of Buu had been molded and refined into a new maturity and calm and something else the prince thought looked like naive curiosity. The almost uncanny semblance to an old ally rendered Vegeta breathless.

He tried to turn away but his eyes seemed locked on the hauntingly familiar face. Buu leaned closer still to stand at Vegeta's slightly parted legs, which were kept subdued by the strong tentacles. The monster was studying him.

"I know what you're thinking." Buu finally spoke, in a voice both smoother and more dignified than Vegeta had expected. He paused provocatively, staring into Vegeta as if he really were reading his mind.

The pink creature's entire manner made the trapped Saiyan feel very disquieted and he wondered what game Buu was playing.

"Having absorbed Goku, I now have his thoughts and memories," Buu explained, lips widening in a fanged grin, "In a sense, our minds are one. You want to know what Kakarot is thinking?"

Vegeta grimaced at the question that was more of a statement and averted his eyes to focus instead on the tentacles surmounting him.

"I can tell you that he's not very impressed with your performance here today...not that he expected much from someone who was already beaten once before... by me!" he recollected with some excitement, "and in a much weaker form too!"

Vegeta would not look again at the unnerving features of Buu's new form. The things the monster was saying were all a part of his game, Vegeta asserted to himself. Just because he now had a grown up face and could speak in complete sentences, it didn't mean that he wasn't the same, simple Buu with a one track mind set to destruction. He was just trying to get under the prince's skin- play with with his food before he ate it. Vegeta enthused his efforts at escape, thrashing even harder than before, hoping to, if anything, distract the alien from any further verbal assault. However, it was a futile attempt: as Vegeta twisted and convulsed, the quicksand-tentacles seemed to just overpowered him more easily, while Buu himself still appeared totally undaunted by his efforts.

"Do you know," Buu continued in his low purr, "that he loves to watch you struggle." he tilted his head, taking in the prince's conflict before adding, almost appreciatively, "It's what you do best." Vegeta seethed. "You try so hard...but you will never beat me."

The last part was said in not the voice of Buu but in a voice that caught Vegeta so fully off guard that he abandoned his struggles entirely. When he looked up, he saw that the features which were first only subtly similar to those of his old ally and nemesis were now uncannily so: where first there was a waxy pink shell, was now soft skin; and where first there was a large obtrusive antenna, now sat unruly dark hair.

"Beaten again, Vegeta?" said the thing with both the face and voice of Kakarot, "you're too easy, my old friend."

Vegeta's breath hitched. One of the Thing's frighteningly Saiyan hands came up to grab Vegeta's jaw. It stared him square in the eye for a long while and the prince realized then that the face, which in all other ways was perfectly matched, held venomous pink irises that were in no way Kakarot's. This realization struck the prince with an odd sense of ease.

"Tell me I'm better than you," It said with a dark smile that did not belong on that face, "tell me I'm superior in every way."

Vegeta tried to jerk his head away but the grip on his jaw was painfully firm. Mercifully, the Kakarot-creature released his jaw.

"Do you remember when we first met," it asked, eyes brightening in a somehow very unKakarot way, "you were so... _mmm_- proud then, weren't you?"

Vegeta would not be pulled down memory lane with this monster who was not Kakarot and he certainly wouldn't have a conversation with it. His lips tightened and he shot the other an unblinking glare.

Buu took no notice.

"You were...so _small_- well you're small now, but I remember seeing you then and thinking how _oddly_ small you were." The face of Kakarot studied Vegeta thoughtfully for a moment before continuing with renewed enthusiasm, "and Nappa was so _large!_ I wondered how it was that you came to be leader. Then I met you and it was clear!" there was an almost good-natured laugh in the creature's voice and traces of a genuine smile in his eyes that caught them both off guard.

Vegeta watched in confusion as the Kakarot creature stammered for a moment, apparently realizing that something had gone amiss. Gone was the offensive smile that had temporarily taken over his face. What replaced it was a searching look, almost ashamed. Whatever had caused the brief moment of serenity was a mystery to even Buu. While the eyes still betrayed the dominant presence of Buu, that fleeting smile had been quintessential Kakarot. Vegeta knew that Buu had intended to taunt the prince with his insight into his old nemesis' mind, however it had backfired somehow. He wondered if Kakarot, while captured, still had some hold over the monster.

A very unnatural look of wrath suddenly darkened the stolen features of Kakarot. Buu had composed himself and was now keen to take his anger at the momentary loss of control out on Vegeta. He tightened his tentacles around his captive. Vegeta tensed as his throat and limbs were painfully squeezed.

He tried thrashing again but it was just as futile if not more so than before. His physical agony was quickly joined by humiliation when he heard the fanatical laughter of Kakarot- not Buu, but Kakarot. It was a sound that would haunt Vegeta's night's for years after. Vegeta struggled and struggled and the horrible, hacking laughter seemed to go on, echoing in his mind which was rapidly going dark from lack of oxygen. Reluctantly but inevitably, Vegeta felt the fight leaving him.

The prince abandoned his struggle and when Buu was confident that his weakened captive wasn't bluffing, he eased the tentacle from around his strained neck. Vegeta's head fell defiantly away from Buu. Though he had exhausted his stamina and could not fight Buu, he would not indulge the manipulative beast by appearing to be listening.

As Vegeta's breathing calmed and began to quiet, Buu's own breath quickened in apparent excitement. He seemed to think that the upper hand had been surrendered to him. He lowered his face to Vegeta's on the large and slanted rock and rested his arms on either side of the Saiyan's head. The fact that their hips were grazing was a distant thought in Vegeta's weary mind.

"You never could even approach his power, could you? But you just keep at it..." Buu had taken on his true form again and Vegeta felt relief despite himself. "Do you like being dominated, Vegeta," Buu asked softly, tentatively examining the sweat-drenched face and pulsing neck of the Saiyan below him, "that's the only thing I can figure, because you just keep coming back for more."

Vegeta gritted his teeth but did not face the monster. This seemed to entice Buu and he trudged on.

"Was it Frieza?" he offered, even more softly, " Is that where it started? Was it your father?"

Vegeta felt a jolt through his body at the audaciousness of the question and his breath hitched in his chest.

"Will you answer me, Vegeta?" Buu's many tentacles throbbed coaxingly around Vegeta's limbs. While Buu's voice mastered a steady softness, his many tentacles abused him. The strips around the prince's thighs were wound so coarsely that they began to tear away at the fabric of his pants.

"I find I have this fascination for you growing inside of me. I can't explain it," Buu continued more softly, and his face was so close now that his breath heated Vegeta's cheek, "for whatever reason, I want to better understand you. I have so many questions to ask."

Vegeta knew that the absorption of Kakarot would have a softening effect on Buu, but not to this extent. While the new traits might have been the reason the beaten Saiyan was still alive, he found he much preferred being thrown through rock formations to this bizarre and unnerving display of tenderness.

As Buu whispered intently to him, Vegeta's strength was slowing gathering. He began to quietly struggle again.

"Will you answer me?" Buu pleaded, "talk to me, Vegeta. I want to know you. I know you want to know about me too! Having absorbed Goku, I now share his mind. I know how he feels about you. And somehow those feelings have ..._mixed_ and welled up into a kind of fixation in me," he trailed off, a hand hovering over the tattered cloth on Vegeta's chest, wanting but hesitating to land there. "I have all this new information, but it doesn't add up..." Buu retired his hand to the rock beside Vegeta's turned head, "It fascinates me, your relationship with him."

Vegeta felt a strand of his hair being absently played with and Buu's nose nuzzling it. "I want to feel that," Buu whispered now, lips grazing his cheek, "how you _worship_ him."

At last, Vegeta broke his silence. "What do you know?" He spat, jerking his head around and startling Buu slightly, "what are you talking about?"

A rogue tentacle quietly glided beneath the rim of Vegeta's tattered shirt and gently caressed his tense abdomen, as if to calm him.

Vegeta felt the tender ministrations of the tentacle but did not break from his fiery glare. Buu grinned darkly and lowered his lips to Vegeta's ear.

"I've seen you rush to clash with him. It's in my mind. I've seen you moan when he overtakes you. Would you do anything for him?"

At this, Vegeta felt his thighs being parted by the tentacles.

"Do you owe him that because he killed Frieza?"

Vegeta heard the beast but his focus was pulled to his parted thighs and Buu's hips which slowly filled the space there.

"Vegeta?"

"What are you doing?" Vegeta's voice came out softly in his confusion.

"Don't you owe me something?"

It was the voice of Kakarot. Vegeta froze for a moment but quickly jerked himself out of it.

"Stop this," he growled, eyes snapping up to Buu's with a warning,"fight me with honor! Enough of your games!"

Buu only rolled his eyes dramatically. "Oh, you'd like me to beat you some more? Vegeta, haven't you humiliated yourself enough today? No, I think we'll stay here. And besides, you haven't answered any of my questions." he purred, returning to nuzzling the Saiyan's ear.

"You fool! Release me and fight!"

"I'll release you..." Buu countered, "but you have to do something for me." and he moved to look directly into his quarry's eyes with a dark intent.

Vegeta, noting some significance in the look, contorted his face as best he could into a look so full of disgust and loathing that there would be no confusion in Buu's mind that the prince would die before doing him any favors.

Buu didn't doubt the glare, but currently the alien's curiosity greatly surpasses his lust for destruction.

"Just play along a little," Buu said in a pleading tone not unlike the absorbed third class Saiyan, "I just want to know about you...I can't believe that Goku- your Kakarot- never quenched this curiosity. He wasn't as simple minded as he seemed." Buu looked as though he was searching for something as he furrowed his brow and stared at the ground. "But there's nothing here," he continued, slightly exasperated, "It's like there's a wall there...all these observations but only observations- no confrontation. It's as if he never speaks to you about what is so obviously here."

Vegeta stared off as well. it all sounded like a bunch of psychotic rambling to him. Nontheless, a sharp ache welled in the prince every time Buu mentioned Kakarot. It was the worst when he chose to refer to the other Saiyan and their association in the present tense and not the past, where Vegeta now knew him to be. Kakarot was gone along with the others and Vegeta was alone with this monster who had an inexplicable interest in him. Of course Vegeta and Kakarot had never spoken to one another in such a way, Vegeta asserted to himself, there was never any reason- no room for such petty discussions. What they have- _had_- was beyond discussion. That's how they wanted it. And that's how it would always be. The familiar hollowness returned to the silent Saiyan as his mind trailed off. What they had would never have a chance to be anything more now.

"Or maybe he tried..." Blood red eyes slowly came back around to Vegeta and the prince realized with a grimace that the monster was still speaking. "Maybe it's you who never spoke to him," the pink alien looked into him with a dark ambition and it dawned on the confined Saiyan that, while physically bested he was, he might actually have the upper hand. Buu could beat blood and sweat and maybe even tears out of Vegeta but he couldn't beat his thoughts out.

"Then that is something the two of you truly do have in common," the prince said, a defiant grin on his busted lips, "because I'm not speaking to you either." The prince reveled in the disappointment that passed for an instant over his foe's face, and cherished the slight upper hand as he knew he wouldn't have it for long. He even allowed himself a biting chuckle at the fury that flashed in Buu's eyes at the insubordination. It was quickly hidden and replaced with a dark grin of Buu's own.

The two stared, laughing with each other for a moment. There was a thick tension in the air.

"Oh, Vegeta," Buu sighed when his laughter finally subsided, "you will talk to me. And I'll make you." The promise was promptly followed by a sudden rush of activity from the many surrounding tentacles. Vegeta's arms were lifted and pinned above his head against the rock, his legs pried further open. Buu forced his full weight upon him.

"And then," the impassioned monster breathed, "I'm going to show you how weak you really are."

Vegeta felt even more pressure come down between his thighs. Was it possible that he had missed this the entire time? Buu was grinding his hips intermittently into Vegeta's, a wildness suddenly possessing him. The fallen prince could not believe the sharp turn the fight had taken and he was so completely harassed that he couldn't focus his mind enough to work it all out. He could only grunt as a tentacle wrapped itself around his head and muffled him like a gag. The thrusts were hard and not meant to be pleasurable, Vegeta guessed. he imagined this was Buu's final act of dominance over him. As confusing as it was, Vegeta was utterly humiliated to be handled so lewdly by an enemy. Disrespect and taunts he could handle, but this was a whole new method of torment that, in all his long years of kneeling at the boots of the more powerful, Vegeta had never experienced. His face became flushed as he shut his eyes in an effort to focus on anything but his agony and shame. Buu reveled in the wonderful discomfort he was causing his rebellious Saiyan as he crushed Vegeta's most sensitive appendage between them.

Slowly but thoroughly Buu thrust into the spread prince as though he were penetrating him. He found the explicit act did wonders in crumbling the prince's pride as he watched tears begin at the brim of his eyes and a look of utter discomfort claim his features. The grunts from the gagged Saiyan grew more ragged and pained. Before Vegeta realized it, the grinding against him had stopped. However, his poor scrotum continued to throb furiously from misuse.

Vegeta dared not open his eyes, afraid of seeing what else the pink monster had in store. But the weight of the other's body was soon lifted off of him completely. A brief moment of relief was then clouded by dread as he felt his own body being raised from the course boulder and hung by the confining tentacles. When Vegeta finally opened his eyes he looked down at his own body upright and hovering just above the ground. His clothes were tattered where the tentacles had torn them but somehow still clinging onto him feebly much like Vegeta was clinging onto his resolve.

"Ready to talk to me, Princey?" he heard his tormentor say. Was the monster so starved for attention that he had to go through this entire, gruesome process every time he wanted to have a conversation with someone? The unexpectedly lighthearted thought passed through Vegeta's mind, easing him for a moment that he cherished while it lasted. He laughed inwardly despite the severity of the situation. All the same, he wasn't about to make it easier on Buu.

Vegeta said nothing and let his head lull to one side. He had undergone countless hours of torture by enemies and even people he'd thought to be allies in the past and never once had he caved under their efforts. While Vegeta had never been faced with such a torture as trying as this, he would face it like all the others. He would not break.

"I had hoped it wouldn't be so easy." Buu growled appreciatively and Vegeta could hear the grin, "now is the real fun." Buu took a step closer to the dangling prince who hung, spreadeagled, just below Buu's eye level. The calculative creature let his eyes wander over the defenseless form before resting on his tired face. "You must be in pain..." his hand reached out and cupped the prince's sore member and gently began to sooth it through the thin cloth of his pants.

Vegeta was so wrapped up in his own discomfort and yearning for an end that for moments, he didn't even notice the hand on him. A low moan escaped his lips and he blearily gazed around as though awoken. When he realized the moan had been his own, he looked dangerously up at his enemy and his eyes said, with all the venom he could muster, _don't you dare._

Buu's hand continued while his own fiery eyes stared back into Vegeta's.

Vegeta began to seethe. This was intolerable. This was not how it was done.

"Stop this..." he said firmly.

Buu took a bold step forward and was now as close as he could get to the fuming Saiyan without risking getting bitten.

"Stop this now."

The hand continued, more sensually now and Buu's breath was on his face. Vegeta was not comfortable, to say the least, with this sort of touching and he wished the bastard mutant would grind him some more and make him sore. Not even Bulma had been granted this kind of intimacy. He scarcely even allowed himself this attention, usually disciplining his mind into finding more productive uses of his time. The tentacles around his body, whose roughness he'd grown used to, were wiggling around him now with an foreign tenderness. The tentacles around his thighs began to slither up the tattered cloth toward his groin and more tentacles began wrapping themselves around his chest, tearing away at what was left of his weathered shirt. He felt a soft rubbery appendage caress a nipple and he gasped.

"Buu! Stop this!" he cried, "This has gone far enough! Fight me!" Vegeta did well to keep the the plea out of his voice but he found his resolve was quickly fading as a thumb rubbed over the clothed head of his hardening length. He grunted in frustration.

"Just a little more... do you like that?" Buu asked, knowing the answer but surprising himself with how badly he wanted to hear it from the prince.

Vegeta gave a disgusted cry. Tentacles were now rubbing both of his hardened nipples in slow and concentrated circles while Buu's hand worked his member with a terrible grace. Vegeta was so distracted by the sensations overrunning his body that his mouth hung open. Buu was not worried about getting too close now. He watched, fascinated, as the proud prince reacted openly to his stimulus. Tentacles were now inside Vegeta's tattered spandex and were winding themselves up his throbbing member. Vegeta shuttered and his head fell to his chest. Buu's hand left Vegeta's shaft (it was now being taken care of by a tentacle) and buried itself in his hair. Using the dark main, he tugged Vegeta's head back to attention.

"Look at me," Buu said into the flushed face of the prince.

Vegeta slowly opened his eyes and a look of utter shame overtook him.

"_Please,_" vegeta grunted, "please fight me."

Buu hushed him softly and brought up one tentacle to fully quiet the prince. It slowly breached Vegeta's lips and twisted around to allow itself to be fully moistened by Vegeta's compliant tongue. When it slowly extracted itself from the prince's lax mouth a trail of saliva followed. Vegeta groaned as the tentacle then moved around to where his eyes could not follow. A wet spot of precum spread at the crotch of his pants. Vegeta tried desperately to not convey the pleasure he was feeling in his face. His breaths came hard through his teeth and his eyes seemed to struggle to keep from rolling to the back of his head.

"Do you want me to penetrate you with one one my tentacles?" Buu asked casually.

Vegeta's eyes shot open. The tentacle that had left his mouth moments before was now grazing over his clothed buttocks and getting dangerously close to his orifice. What was said began to fully register in the mind of the weakened Saiyan.

"You don't want that, do you?"

The look on Buu's face told Vegeta that he was trying to manipulate him again and Vegeta was seriously considering caving. The prince had been humiliated enough and he was certain that nothing could be worse than being sodomized by his enemy.

Ignoring the pained outcry from his pride, Vegeta said lowly, "no more."

Buu smiled at the small victory, "That's good, Vegeta. That's good. Then say as I tell you. Say, 'I am weak and love to be dominated.' And say, 'I deserve to be punished. I'd love you to fuck me.'"

Vegeta paused for what must have been too long. He felt a rubbery tentacle of moderate size slide beneath a tear in the back of his spandex and begin to rub coaxingly against his opening. Vegeta tensed hard and found the words had left him. Buu recited them again in an antagonistic effort at aiding the struggling Saiyan. However, Vegeta found that, try as he might, the words would not form in his mouth. They wouldn't happen (It didn't help that he was being so thoroughly prodded.). It turned out that such a consummate defeat was in fact beyond the prince and his pride quietly swelled a little.

He couldn't glory in his personal victory for long: the thick and smooth tentacle could wait no longer and penetrated him with a punishing force for his insubordination. Vegeta howled with a voice he didn't know he had left. Buu smiled and decided he was almost as pleased with this outcome as he would have been had Vegeta complied. The prince hung hopelessly as Buu's appendages raised and dropped him like a puppet onto the thick tentacle, spreading him more and more with each dive. At the same time, fellow tentacles terrorized the rest of his vulnerable body, massaging his chest and milking his beading cock- but not relieving him. Warm tears began streaming out of his eyes without Vegeta knowing or caring.

The long piece of Buu inside him began twisting and wriggling in ways that wrenched deep moans from the slight Saiyan's throat. He was beyond thought. Buu watched and took in his fill for some minutes before deciding that he was not getting enough from the prince. The thick slab of Buu slowly and tantalizing withdrew itself from Vegeta's body only after dipping in one last time, deeply and thoroughly, as if acting on its own accord. the spread Saiyan was left twitching and dripping. Vegeta seemed unable to hold in his cries now as if his inner nerves had worked up an appetite from the brief intrusion and were desperately yearning for the next stimulus.

Vegeta was gently lowered to the ground and Buu watched him panting and toiling. The used Saiyan's hands glided weakly over his own body as if in search of something. If he reached for his swollen length, Buu would have to stop him. He wouldn't be allowed to relieve himself. Vegeta's nerves slowly lost their razor sharp edge and he was able to peer beneath his heavy eye lids to see his tormentor.

The figure standing above him was changing into something more frightening than any version of Buu. After a moment of only a rippling, amorphous blob, the orange and blue clad body of Kakarot emerged into recognition. To Vegeta's horror, it knelt down between the worn Saiyan's wobbling legs and immediately took to removing the tatters of clothing from them.

Vegeta's weary eyes hectically scanned the form kneeling above him. He first noticed that there were no more tentacles. They had all gone. There was now only a body here- and a hauntingly Saiyan one. Vegeta mentally pleaded for the being to look up, to look into his eyes. If Vegeta could see those venomous eyes, then he would know that it was Buu and that this was all a part of his terrible game. The Kakarot creature did not look up but had quietly moved up to begin tearing away the scraps that concealed Vegeta's still swollen member.

_Look up, Look up!_ Vegeta's mind cried. Vegeta couldn't see his eyes and he didn't like this.

Suddenly, a hand closed around the base of his shaft and his whole body cried out. Next, the unruly, dark head lowered itself and the weakened Saiyan felt a gentle but assertive mouth taking him in.

"_No, no,_" Vegeta moaned and his arms came up to cover his face. The man sucked him more demandingly and Vegeta's hands flew down to push him away. In one quick motion, both wrists were confined in the large hand of the stranger, who continued to rise and fall between the princes thighs.

Vegeta was very close to losing complete control. All he had was his load- his climax. Once he lost that, he would be done; he would have nothing left, for the beast had taken everything else. The stranger seemed to take pity on him and let the stiff shaft slip from his mouth unfinished. Vegeta was grateful and infuriated all at once.

He looked down at the man, who finally raised his head, but to no avail. It was too dark in the grove and Vegeta could not make out the shape of the man's eyes, let alone their color. Vegeta sighed as his captured wrists were pulled up over his head. The silent man with Kakarot's clothes and touch settled his hips between the slighter man's bare thighs.

"Don't," Vegeta said softly, as though the man over him truly was Kakarot and would have compassion. The man only lowered his head to nuzzle Vegeta's neck and used his free hand to raise one of the limp thighs. "Please," Vegeta tried again.

The shrouded man seemed to be fully focused on his task alone. Soon he was positioned firmly against Vegeta's already moistened and prepared opening and Vegeta was tense and panting in anticipation. The man didn't move. Vegeta grew more uneasy with every passing second.

"Call me Kakarot." The man finally said, in that ageless voice.

Vegeta found he was glad to hear the cool and gentle voice of his fellow Saiyan at a time when the prince felt completely alone and shed of his control. However, when his mind caught up, he recalled the words the man said and he was slammed back into his circumstances and the hollowness of it.

The slight Saiyan who was proving to be more resilient than either of them expected, said no. What followed was the thick head of a shaft slowly intruding him. The prince groaned loudly. The Kakarot beast ceased his intrusion once the bulbous head of his cock was sheathed and he waited. He didn't ask again but Vegeta knew what he was waiting for. He didn't see what he had to gain from saying the name- surely the man would do whatever he was going to do anyway- but, then again, he didn't see what he had to lose either. That brief moment earlier when he'd thought he'd seen the real Kakarot in the face of the monster made him wonder, with a scrap of hope, if the barriers were unstable. Maybe he could call Kakarot out of this. His body was already here in completion, as far as Vegeta could see- and feel, maybe his mind wasn't far behind. There was little logic in this belief but it seemed to be all the logic the haunted Saiyan needed.

In a cracked voice that seemed to signify the broken pride of the prince, Vegeta spoke the name.

What followed was a sound laced in dark satisfaction from the man on top of him. Then, very suddenly, the broken Saiyan was penetrated to the hilt. A long gasp escaped his lips. His violator began a smooth rhythm of slowly pulling out of him and then _very_ slowly forcing back in. This tantalizing treatment continued for some amount of time that was probably shorter than Vegeta thought it was. It didn't pain him in the least anymore but somehow he found it to be the worst kind of torture. The fire in his low abdomen was building at a steady rate and he could only gasp and arch into it. Distantly, he felt breath against his ear.

"Say, 'please fuck me, Kakarot.'" the monster said in the all too familiar voice, but darkened with lust. Vegeta had never heard that voice take on such a tone. It was terrible. "Say, 'I like it when you punish me.' Say it."

Vegeta tried to jerk his head away. The pace of the thrusts were neither quickening nor slowing and the prince's body was heavily on edge.

"Please..." he began without even knowing. It seemed his body and voice were acting separately from his reluctant mind and were doing whatever it took now to end this torment, "please..."

"Please?" the monster encouraged, finally slowing his pace to the gentlest of thrusts.

"Please," Vegeta said again, panting roughly, "please, fuck me."

He hadn't said the name but the plea alone was enough to accelerate the beast into a new course of action. He suddenly sat up on his haunches, releasing the wrists of the grounded Saiyan (Vegeta hardly needed restraining anymore). His thrusts maintained a more enthusiastic rhythm now as he stared down at the defeated prince. He began slowly shedding his shirt to reveal more and more chest and abdomen that were entirely Kakarot's.

Vegeta's mind was waging such a war that he could hardly fight.

_This isn't Kakarot_, his mind screamed repeatedly _Kakarot would never do this to you!_

As he battled himself, the head of his tormentor fell back in an arch. The sun outside of the thorny grove had moved and now shone specks of light down on a familiar face lax with pleasure. Slowly, the eyes opened and fell upon Vegeta's own. The prince could see them perfectly now, but where were the venomous irises? Now he stared into the darkest pools. But where there should have been naivety and kindness was now pure, animal lust and power.

"Kakarot?" Vegeta's voice was faint.

Kakarot grinned ferally and his thrusts deepened. Vegeta watched in pure horror.

"No," he cried, "_no, no!_"

Kakarot leaned over Vegeta as he bore into him, grinning all the while. He watched the eyes of his conquest close tightly and brim with rivers of tears. He found that the prince's voice had not been completely worn out and he relished in the jagged screams. Somewhere in the wild and brutal claiming, a not-so-gentle hand wrapped itself around Vegeta's center of torment and began working it hard. Vegeta could not gage the amount of time it took, nor anything else, but with a painful arche and a last sob, he climaxed in the hand of the only other Saiyan living and received the other's seed to the brim.

Vegeta lye there panting, unaware of much of anything. Before the other body pulled out of him, it gently leaned over him and said, slightly breathless, "Now I've beaten you in every way." Quietly and promptly, the man gathered himself and walked away, carelessly leaving the other in a tattered and used mess in the thorns.

Vegeta wouldn't see it but as the man distanced himself, he slowly changed. Soft flesh became waxy and hard; wild hair shrank into a neat antenna; the orange and blue gi molded into the mutant uniform; and the darkest brown eyes melted back into venomous pink. When Buu had cleared the great thorny grove, he gave a great long stretch and admired the bright sky. He gaged that he had sufficiently satisfied his curiosity, and smiled. Somewhere in the far reaches of his mind there was a roar of opposition that had been persistently pricking at him for some time now, but it died away into silence. Buu disregarded it again. He didn't like to indulge the odd surges of emotion that came from that part of his mind, for fear of losing himself to it. However, this particular outcry was so strong and so permeating that, reluctantly and for the first time, he did respond.

_At least I didn't kill him,_ he gently sent to the far reaches of his mind. And that was all. Buu moved on.


	2. The Complex

**The Complex **

Buu did not look back on what had happened- or rather what hadn't happen- as a moment of weakness. What hadn't happened was the death of the last living Z fighter. At first he'd tried to justify it as a conscious decision he'd made to keep the little runt around as sport for later. Soon, tired of arguing with himself, he decided it best to just push it to the back of his mind. He even managed to convince himself that he had, in fact, killed the Saiyan. He assumed the appropriate air of someone who had no cares left in the world and was therefore entitled to some recreational time. He was fairly convincing in the role of the retired too and carried on smoothly for some time. The only indication that the quick and timely killing of Vegeta did not actually occur was the occasional and inexplicable frown that would pass over Buu's face.

Buu was sitting in an empty cafe (empty because he had eaten all the customers and employees.), stirring cream into a mug of mint chocolate milk with a candy cane and feeling rather satisfied with the current state of things, when he was overcome with an odd sense of loss. It was the feeling you get when you realize you've forgotten something but can't, for the life of you, pin point it. He frowned again.

All day Buu had been having a difficult time keeping up his mood. He didn't know why. Hadn't everything he'd done up to that point been something he'd wanted to do? Overall he'd made himself a full and satisfying day, hadn't he? Buu truly had nothing to feel at a loss about and he certainly wouldn't waste any more time trying to find something. He set down his hot chocolate as though it were the culprit ofthe sudden plummet in hs mood, and left in search of something else with which to distract himself.

xxxxxxxx

Some miles out of the city where Buu was currently brooding, the true culprit of his bad mood was slowly but steadily making his way through the woods. The small and tattered Saiyan was limping northeast. There was nothing of particular importance to him in that direction, it was just the direction he happened to start moving in. Really, it didn't matter what direction he went. His first priority was to get away from the grove.

With every step, Vegeta felt like he was battling gravity for balance. He swayed and grabbed at things for stability. He wasn't exactly awake, but he wasn't tired. When he arrived at where ever he was going, he would not remember this walk, nor would he remember leaving the great, thorny grove. What he would remember, unfortunately and in gruesome detail, was what took place inside. However, he wasn't thinking about that now. Now his waning focus was set on distancing himself as much as possible from the scene behind him. Although he stumbled and sometimes fell into nearby trees and bushes, he continued to move with a diligence. It was as though stopping for even an instant would allow whatever he'd left behind him time to catch up. Like in a relay race, he feared he would lose the gain he had over his trailing memories. And as juvenile as it was, his literal flee from the past seemed to be working. His thoughts did not fall back to what had happened behind him. All he thought about was getting somewhere, and when he arrived, he would deal with it then.

xxxxxxxxx

After the very disappointing cafe, Buu tried to distract himself with a number of other promising activities: First, he crashed a wealthy dinner party, tormented the hundreds of guests and then turned them into various festive cakes. Then, oddly, he was struck with a sharp loss of appetite and left the hundreds of sweets to splatter and waste all over the ground; After that, he set fire to a soccer field- during a game. However, the fire made him feel nostalgic and he didn't stay to watch the embers; Later, he tried to stage a domino fall with the larger of the city buildings, but it wasn't successful and only served to deepen his mood; Finally he visited the humane society to pet the cats. When even this did not help his emotional pickle, he decided he'd had enough.

In a huff of frustration, Buu fled the city, coming to a violent halt some miles above. Hovering there, he scanned the area frantically, searching for something- he didn't know what. He was struggling to define what it was he was feeling at that moment because it was something so foreign and unnatural to him, he couldn't find the word for it. Then, all of a sudden, it hit him.

He scoffed in dismay.

Buu realized he was undergoing symptoms of depression. Activities he used to love no longer held the same thrill. He was easily disinterested and felt little motivation to do anything at all. Nothing he did seemed to matter. Never had Buu felt such utter hopelessness. The idea that someone with his power and stature could be capable of feeling anything like depression was a farce. He couldn't believe it yet he knew it to be true.

Somewhere in the far reaches of his mind, a biting sense of satisfaction was humming to itself. Buu had to almost concentrate to trace it, but in a moment he understood. His moods, like his power, were under the influence of another and Buu had more than an idea of whom.

In the same way that Goku's power much overshadowed those of the other fighters Buu absorbed, his personality and mood inclinations seemed to be the dominating presence in Buu's mind. In other words, Buu was unable to have any fun while his implant was moping.

This wasn't supposed to happen. The syncing of minds was supposed to be seamless. Detection of individual entities was … well it was insubordination, Buu concluded.

He deliberated amongst himself this way for some time, as though he could reason his mood into cheering up. It didn't seem to be moved by his argument, however, and Buu became more frustrated.

In a flurry, the mutant heaved a ball of tension into the horizon. As a plot of forest dissipated into a crater off in the distance, Buu found it just made him more depressed. The stubborn corner of his mind hummed once more at his expense.

Buu seethed. Had he now become the puppet in his own show? Impossible! The thought disgusted him. As Buu became angrier at the thought, he began to seethe. Distantly, he swore he could hear laughter. There was noone around, however. The laughter was only in his mind. It became louder until it seemed to vibrate endlessly through his head and Buu found he couldn't block out the echoes. In a blind rage, he launched ball after ball of furious energy to the city below. The ground was ablaze.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Vegeta awoke in a dimmed room he didn't recognize. In his dizzy desperation to leave the woods behind, he'd taken himself to a strange house.

Vegeta began to sit up but stopped when every cell in his body cried out for mercy, reminding him of the stern beating he'd taken some time earlier. He was able to push passed the muscular soreness but when he was hit with a different sort of ache, one that stung him from within, he hissed and paused.

What had happened? What had he allowed to happen? A wave of revulsion overtook Vegeta and he collapsed back down and shut his eyes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buu was on edge. He looked around as though he expected a foe to burst out of nowhere to catch him off guard. But the battle was only in his mind.

As the great city evaporated into dust and ash, Buu hovered some miles above, panting and gleaming in sweat. It was clear that his frustration had gotten the better of him. Oh, if all of his old enemies could be there now- what a sight to behold! The great and unstoppable Buu throwing a temper tantrum. If Babidi where there- oh, a stern scolding would be in order!

After a few minutes, Buu cooled down and his breathing eased until he was almost composed. As he waited there above the crater once inhabited by the populated city, Buu noticed with some wonder that his mind had gone quiet. The laughter had stopped. He thought first that his outburst had shut it up but then a wave of emotion overtook him. In place of mocking satisfaction was a devastating sorrow. In an instant, Buu felt more than knew that the sorrow was for the lives he had just taken. Normally, the mutant didn't blink an eye at the destruction of life and often even took great joy in finding creative ways to kill, so he knew at once that the contradictory emotions were separate from his own. It was his latest and strongest implant coming out again but this time it wasn't laughing.

"Oh, you don't like that?"

xxxxxxxxxxx

Perhaps it was the spirits of long-deceased Saiyans reaching out to him from the grave due to some divine intervention, or perhaps it was the fact that he hadn't eaten in days, but Vegeta felt in his gut a pull that he couldn't ignore and he found he was incapable of laying there any longer.

With great will power and a glimmer of something that only Saiyans have a name for, the beaten warrior pushed his pain to the back of his mind. Then, with a strength unheard of from any human after having undergone such tribulations, Vegeta picked himself up off the mat.

His head was heavy and Vegeta lifted his hands to ease some inner ache. He wasn't a prince anymore. He was the ruler of no one. He didn't have to hear it. However, while he was still in power of his own mind and body, he would carry himself in a way that would at least bring pride to the memory of his tarnished people. He would not shrivel away nor would he allow himself any self-pity. Forward, he asserted, was the only direction from there, at least while there was still something left to be saved. And as though sending home the point, Vegeta inhaled deeply, straightened his back, and took the first step forward.

xxxx

As Buu hovered there above the crater, an idea hit him. Reaching far back into the caverns of his mind, Buu weaved through a jungle of unorganized memories that had not always been his own. After a few moments of sorting through them, he found the batch he was looking for. Images flashed in his mind at lightning speed, and Buu felt the emotion behind every one and understood them down to their tiniest details as if he had lived them himself. He saw many different creatures and planets and flashes of battles. Before long he deduced that some of the most vibrant memories involved a quaint, dark-haired woman and a small cottage on the outskirts of a city. The lightning slide show suddenly stopped on the smiling woman in the house. His thoughts hovered there with a dark implication. The swell of satisfaction that had been mocking him early was all but dissipated and in it's place arose a feeling of dread.

Buu laughed to himself. He had found the leverage he needed.

xxxxxxxxx

Vegeta's stiff and rigid form looked around a dark and dusty room. In his zombie-like half-consciousness, he had taken himself to a small home on the outskirts of the city. He dressed quickly in some clothes he found in the closet. He didn't know if whoever lived there would be coming back but he wasn't worried. The importance of his mission far outweighed the immorality of a stolen pair of over-sized slacks and top.

Buu hadn't gotten all of them. There were still a few left and the last Z fighter was tasked with seeing to it that the last of them were taken somewhere safe. He left immediately, ready to set about his plans, fear pushed to the back of his mind. First on the list of priorities was Kakarotto's home, then to Capsule Corps. Bulma's hand in this fight would now become imperative. Now that strength no longer factored into the equation, a brilliant mind was their last hope. Bulma was now Earth's most powerful protector. Vegeta knew what he had to do.

xxxxxxx

Buu knew what he had to do.

While the latest addition to his mind clung to its humanity, it was reluctant to be fully joined into Buu's being. The eclectic creature realized at that moment that he would have to relieve Goku of the petty attachments that were keeping him anchored to his former life. Emancipation was necessary before Goku could come fully and without obstacle into his new accommodations in the all-powerful embrace of Buu.

Like an equation that just clicked, Buu found the solution to his problem. He swelled with a sense of purpose. With his new memories guiding him like a GPS system, he knew where to go.

It was time to complete the initiation of his newest addition.


	3. The New Mission

Vegeta flew at a pace that didn't nearly lend to the severity of the situation, but he was still recuperating from the chunk energy he'd lost in his battle against Buu and was having a difficult time just managing to hover. However, the sliver of energy he was exerting in doing so made it impossible to detect his location, so he was satisfied at least to play it safe. He flew low, not breaking the tree tops- it made it difficult to keep a direct course but it made him feel secure somehow.

The soft sound of the tree branches whisking passed him was a comforting third party to him and his thoughts. Unfortunately, it didn't smother the images that would flash at random behind his eyes and he felt the creeping presence of the dark thing constantly. In the back of his mind, freshly buried, it was slowing and deliberately clawing it's way to the surface to poke its ugly head around at him.

This might have made a lesser man feel helpless to the trauma but Vegeta was well practiced in the way of ignoring glaring truths. Vegeta would do what he had done under the employment of Frieza, after having undergone countless degrading tortures. He would keep it away. He had become very good at pushing things to the back of his mind and burying them there. Only years after the death of Frieza and having spent time in the company of the seemingly simple earthlings he had come to know, did he begin to wonder if "burying away" was really what he was doing. When he put away his torment, was it really gone? Or was he taking it into himself and with time, coming more and more into the person it was making him- the person he was today. Was he like Buu- dragging lives away into the caverns of his mind, hiding them there and neglecting them, all the while growing into a darker and more abominable monster. Would Vegeta take this new and terrible offense into himself as well? Vegeta tensed in disgust at the idea of permanently wearing the shame of what had happened to him in the grove. And could everyone see it on him like a mark? How much more could he bury away until it all started to come crashing down on top of him.

Vegeta was pulled from his deepening thoughts when he saw in the near distance a great red dome poking out from the trees. He was coming up on the former home of Kakarot and where Chichi was hopefully residing now. He would have to be quick, he knew. Vegeta wasn't sure if Buu would find reason to come here but he dared not trust to assume anything about the mercurial creature. He would grab Chichi and leave. There would be time for explanations when they had reached a secure place.

The cottage was tucked away in the trees as though it were hiding, and Buu beamed like a child who'd won a game of hide and seek.

The life inside the house was so insignificant that Buu couldn't sense it. How someone as powerful as Goku could fall to such a low as to attach himself to such inferior beings was beyond him. Fortunately, it didn't matter. Buu, now a kind of savior, would relieve Goku of what was surly only holding him back from what would be his true potential.

Buu's breath caught in his chest when he saw a midnight purple peak from the screen door. Then the full form of the dark haired woman from his memories emerged from the house, stepping lightly down from the door way and embarking the grassy yard. Buu watched, captivated, as Chichi gently knelt and poured a pan of steaming liquid over the ground, careful to keep it away from her feet and dress. Something in Buu's chest grew warm. Buu caught it and replaced it with a the purpose of his mission and steeled himself instantly.

Buu extended a steady hand and between his fingers he could see the distant form of the purple-clad woman making her way back into the house, emptied pan in hand.

A different sort of heat from the one he'd felt in his chest began boiling in his open palm and he sent it down to the cottage the woman called ChiChi had just vanished into.

For reasons Buu didn't care to explore, he chose not witness the incineration of Goku's wife first hand. Instead he remained above and watched as, within seconds, a new crater replaced modest home.

Something clenched inside of him instantly and he bit back a groan. Buu felt a pain that was not physical but it made him yearn to grab for his stomach. He resisted.

An odd sense of loss, mixed with the pleasure he often derived from causing destruction blended and erupted within him to make a new rush he hadn't expected. It was a sensation he didn't recognize, like hopelessness or sympathy. Killing randomly and at will, while exciting by nature, did get monotonous after a while. The added attachment to this victim did throw in a certain twinge to the mix- a certain hesitation. Fighting that hesitation caused a blazing turmoil in himself. He hadn't felt such a delicious kick in- he didn't know how long. The only thing like it that he could recall was when he walked away from the Saiyan in the grove. He pictured the splayed body, almost the size of a child, lying there twitching and soiled in the brushes, eyes rolled in his head. It was a phenomenal high he'd felt then and he hadn't really thought on it until just now when he'd gotten the similar feeling. There was a battle raging in his head and he appeared to be winning it now as he had then. If he plucked off everyone of Goku's loved one's like this, would he feel this each time, like something tearing, yet flourishing inside of him.

There was a sort of psychotic thrill in it, like he was slowing killing a part of himself but with it, growing more powerful, like slowly detaching himself from the anchor. As destructive as he was, the idea of destroying himself had never occurred to him. All the while he felt a power surging beneath his skin. The sorrow and anger and rage blended into a spiked arousal. He was bursting with an undefinable need. He wanted to go out and do more damage in the hunt for more of this wonderful feeling. Perhaps he had found a way to tap into this new power, Goku had gifted him with.

The Earth Saiyan had something that Buu did not and it was the ability to emotionally attach himself to others- or the ability to "love". With this power of attachment came the irrepressible sorrow when those beloved things were damaged or lost. Buu had never experienced such a dilemma.

However it was that Goku had been absorbed without his emotions being masked like all the others was beyond Buu. However, he attributed it to the fact that he had never absorbed such an energy as Goku's and with that, came unforeseeable side effects. All the same, Buu was beginning to see how he could use these overriding emotions to his advantage, even enjoy them. The rush was like nothing he'd ever felt and gave him such a surge of power... he wanted more.

From a thick hedge some distance from where the Son house once stood. Vegeta and a very frazzled Chichi lay, heads-down in the brambles. Crumbles of ground and tree and other debris flew over them. The flash had ended and now there was just emptied space which Vegeta had _just_ cleared.

Vegeta had arrived in the nick of time. Buu had surprised them like a land mine.

Chichi coughed up some dirt and Vegeta peaked up through the hedges to see where Buu had gone. The pink freak was hovering idly some hundred feet above.

Vegeta was never one to hide but even he could admit he was in no condition the face the mutant.

Chichi whined something next to him and Vegeta quickly hushed her, his eyes never leaving the gleaming pink blotch in the sky. Buu seemed to be formulating something drastic. He seemed enthused. Suddenly he darted off. Vegeta nearly jumped at the swiftness of it, almost expecting the fiend to appear at his other side.

Vegeta looked around and then back at Chichi, who stared around in alarm. He wasn't ready yet to talk to her so he quickly stood up, grabbed her wrist when she offered it and pulled her up as well. When she looked like she was about to speak, Vegeta said, gently now, "I'll explain later. Not here."

That seemed to suffice for now. Chichi nodded and allowed him to scoop her into his arms.

They took flight.

Some time had passed and Vegeta hadn't said a word the whole way, however the grimace on his face spoke volumes of the argument that was screaming in his mind.

Vegeta couldn't believe that Buu would go to Kakarot's home. Certainly Vegeta was preparing for the possibility but he hadn't really expected it -and so _soon_! What on earth had driven him to it? What could Buu possibly get from killing the wife of Kakarot?

"Vegeta?" came Chichi's voice softly, awakening Vegeta from his thoughts.

The annoyed Saiyan hoped to Kami, she wouldn't ask why they were flying so slow. But she didn't and Vegeta stared, slightly confused as her eyes began to glaze and lip quiver faintly.

"They told me Goku was absorbed. They told me it wasn't safe to stay but I had to wait for you. I knew that you would come here. I knew you would."

Chichi was emotional to the point of tears and Vegeta was at a loss for a response. Instinctively he sneered and all but dropped her when she moved to embrace him around the neck. But he let her do it, knowing it must be comforting to her.

The rest of the trip up to Dende's Look Out passed in silence. They landed lightly and, as always, the Guardian and Mr. Popo were waiting. Vegeta transferred Chichi over to them and left in a hurry to the next stop on the list- Capsule Corporation.

Vegeta was regaining his energy and flew now at a pace slightly more urgent. He didn't know if Buu would Pay Bulma a similar visit but he wouldn't risk it. He hoped he wasn't too late.

When Vegeta arrived, Bulma spoke quickly. Like Chichi, she had been informed what had happened to Kakarot but unlike Chichi, was not expecting a rescue.

"Listen, I can't just leave everything here. What about my work! I've hardly packed!"

Vegeta responded as he usually did when he wanted something done while Bulma preferred arguing about it first- he did what he wanted. Through with the idea of arguing any further with the woman, he tossed her over his shoulder in a practiced fashion and flew out the door.

The day was coming to a close and every living human Vegeta and Goku had called friend or family (or, in Vegeta's case, tolerable company) was now bunched up at Dende's little place in the sky.

There was jumble of noise, mostly dominated by Bulma and the occasional quip from Chichi. Vegeta stood off in the corner not wanting to draw much attention to himself. He wasn't quite at home in his new role as the hero.

Somewhere between all the bustle and noise, the young guardian, Dende, made his way over to Vegeta's corner.

Vegeta didn't greet him and he didn't need to ask what was on the young guardian's mind. He knew no action on Earth was hidden from the broad gaze of the look out.

They were silent for a solid few minutes before Dende finally spoke up.

"They'll be safe here for now," he said,

Vegeta said nothing. He knew. The words, _for now_, weighed ominously on his mind.

"There is a humanity in Buu that still holds some things sacred. For whatever reason, he has been ignoring this place. I don't know for how long he will overlook us but I think it's safe to assume that we don't have long."

Vegeta nodded.

The prince had never quite taken to the new guardian of earth. Perhaps it was his lofty position at such a young age and all the responsibility he assumed. But Vegeta knew that Dende had never asked for it. He accepted it, like he did with most things, with grace and optimism. Maybe it was that unyielding optimism that had always rubbed Vegeta the wrong way. He realized then that Dende reminded him of Kakarot. Vegeta tensed slightly.

He had to admit, though, the young Guardian did have a soothing way about him. Vegeta found that the weight he'd been carrying with him all day was easing slightly. Despite himself, Vegeta was grateful that the little sop didn't come over to chide him for his heart that, as it turned out, was not made of stone. He didn't need the condescension. What would have been worse still, is if he came to pity him for what had happened, and he didn't appear to want to do either.

They watched the crowd for a few moments.

"Vegeta," Dende gently broke the silence, turning to the stony Saiyan.

Vegeta turned to see the Namekian looking him up and down with a curious sort of expression.

"Did you want to borrow some clothes?"

Vegeta looked down at himself. He was still wearing the Earth clothes he had found in the vacant house he'd woken up in that morning. It was khaki slacks, too large around the hips so they sagged, and a beige short sleeve shirt which was buttoned sloppily in haste.

"It's fine," Vegeta replied dismissively, a little embarrassed, "I just need a belt."

Dende nodded in his accepting way that seemed to hold no judgment. Vegeta examined the innocent face and couldn't honestly imagine Dende judging anyone hastily. The prince wondered for a passing moment if perhaps the guardian did not think less of him for what had happened in the grove.

The rabbling crowd was simmering down, they had come to a conclusion.

They didn't have to deliberate for long, in fact the decision was unanimous. In such dire times as these, when all hope seemed lost and heroes had fallen, where else had they ever found hope but in the gleam and promise of the seven ancient dragon balls.

Of course the dragonballs.

Vegeta's folded arms tightened over his chest as he listened to the plan which did not involve the remaining Saiyan saving the day in an epic battle. Vegeta didn't blame them for leaving him out of the equation. He was no hero, he knew. They all knew. He'd had his chance at Buu and lost not only the fight but much more. He could swear he'd lost himself at some point in that dark grove as much as he hated to think back on it.

Bulma must have mistaken his bowed head and averted stare as a show of displacement.

"But don't think you're off the hook, Vegeta." she called over with a finger and smirk, "You play an important part in this. We'll need your speed to fetch those dragonballs in a hurry."

Vegeta felt patronized and turned away with a, "Hmph."

They discussed the plan a little more and went into some in-depth planning. Bulma decided that Vegeta was wrong in snatching her so quickly and she had been forced to leave some key tools behind. For one, the dragon radar.

Vegeta was tasked to swing back to Capsule Corp and snag some survival equipment. From there, they would begin the hunt for the dragonballs.


	4. The Dilemma

It was supposed to be a quick errand.

'Just swing by the ol' Caspule corp, Vegeta, grab us a couple things,' Bulma had said, 'after that the real work begins.' Vegeta hadn't made a secret of his irritation that they had lumped such a simple task on him. Him! The last Saiyan- of royal blood even! The one who would be their only hope of survival should the whole dragonball plan fall through. Yeah. They gave him an errand.

The whole way down to the heart of the metropolis, Vegeta was cursing them under his breath.

Nearly an hour had passed in which he'd taken multiple trips, hauling with just himself a number of survival supplies and other useful things. He'd saved the radar for last and he was heading back down to Capsule Corp. on one final trip. He was making pretty good time he thought, and perhaps the gravity of the situation had worn off in him.

In flight, as the wind danced in this hair, his mind drifted back to the day before. It had only been a day and yet if felt so long ago, like he had been a different person then. There was one question in his mind that plagued him- almost more than memories of the act itself. He couldn't help wondering why Buu had left him alive. Why put him through so much horrible torment only to leave him there. The answer seemed too obvious to him; it was humiliation. Buu's intention was to defeat his opponent through shame and depredation. It was comprehensible enough. It was almost identical to how Freiza would beat him publicly to put the rebellious Saiyan in his place. But Buu was not Frieza; Buu didn't need him. So again Vegeta wondered, why? Why not kill him or absorb him like all the others? Why was he still alive? The questions swirled around in the troubled Saiyan's mind and occupied him while he carried out his job.

On his way out the door of Capsule Corporation for what would have been the last time, he paused, looking down at himself as though remembering something. The clothes he'd found that morning and thrown on, while convenient, did not fit him. He lifted his arms and noted the waistband of the slacks slipping another quarter inch down his hips. While he was there, he thought, it might be a good idea to grab some of his own things. He turned and went back inside.

He was sifting rather leisurely through his wardrobe when a jolt hit him. He felt more than sensed a great presence closing in on him. It rocked him to the core. Instantly he knew it was time to get out.

The mutant was coming up on the center of the city where the great dome of Capsule Corp. seemed to swell out of the ground like a giant bubble calling to him to be popped.

Before Vegeta could even find a belt, which was all he decided he'd have time for, a sudden and severe quake wracked the house. Vegeta braced himself against the wall. The ground was shaking as though a construction team was setting off rounds of dynamite next door. Vegeta didn't have to look out the window to know that there was no construction team.

He quickly grabbed the dragon radar and made for the door. As he dashed through the giant maze of a house, it began crumbling around him. He dodged bits of the structure as chunks of it came crashing down. Soon, he found that there was no front door to run to and when he looked up, instead of high ceilings, he could see the sky through clouds of thick dust.

Vegeta paused, coughing up a bit of rubble and he turned to survey the sudden transformation of his surroundings. Covering his mouth with his forearm, he squinted through the dust. As his view cleared, he could see that the whole block had been leveled. Sections of wall from the house still stood feebly around him from what was now left of Capsule Corps. They served as a meager cover for him and for that he was grateful because it was clear now that Buu had arrived.

Buu beamed down on the former home of the Briefs. His latest attempt at subsiding the itch in himself had brought him to Capsule Corps. As he surveyed the rubble, he felt a twisted sense of glee and hovered there to take in the innovation. The dust was clearing and he was getting a better view. This was where Goku's human friend, Bulma, had lived with her family. The idea that he might see mangled bits of there bodies peaking out from the rubble aroused his satisfaction further. Buu had chosen not to level the plot completely, because he liked the idea of them being slowly crushed beneath the structure.

Vegeta cursed himself for not being quicker to find a belt. As he crouched through the remains of his home, careful to remain hidden, he cupped a wad of the rim of his over-sized slacks. How would he get himself out of this situation. The one saving grace was that Buu didn't appear to know Vegeta was there. The Saiyan had done well to suppress his energy at the first sent of Buu's power.

"Vegeta?" Bulmas voice suddenly shouted from his pocket.

Vegeta scrambled for the device almost tearing at his pants.

"Vegeta? What's taking so long? Were you able to find it?"

He found the damned thing, gripping it with both hands like a scurrying rodent. But it was too late. His eyes drifted upward and all of his breath fell away.

Buu was staring dead at him. A large and fanged smile was spreading on his lips.

The day seemed to just get brighter and brighter for Buu. This was surely the highlight. He was elated and it showed. Every fiber in him seemed to leap as he glided down to the now exposed Saiyan.

"Well if it isn't Vegeta." Buu slowed and landed gracefully. His eyes were bright as he focused on the Saiyan who had been a very pleasant surprise.

Vegeta stood up, seeing no sense in crouching anymore now that he'd been found. In his head he was cursing Bulma. She had never been one for patience. Yet neither had he. The communication device now rested quietly in his pocket, opposite the dragon radar. Vegeta stared Buu down.

"Alive and well, I see." his eyes flickered over the Saiyan body that was apt enough to stand on it's own but not to do much else. He noted the energy, which while mending was still faint compared to what it used to be.

Vegeta said nothing but kept his attention locked on every move Buu made. The pause grew.

If Buu found the prince's unresponsiveness rude, he didn't show it.

"Do you like what I've done with the place?" he offered brightly, diverting his unreadable stare from the rigid Saiyan to indicate the despoiled dwelling around them. Buu took a step forward.

Vegeta instantly shifted into a defensive stance and Buu froze in mid-step.

"You don't need to feel threatened, Saiyan," he said slowly and calmly, not wanting to run the Saiyan off, "I can see that you haven't had sufficient enough time to recuperate. I'm not going to attack you, I promise. "

Despite Buu's assurance, Vegeta's heart was making its doubts known as it pounded away in this chest. He was breathing hard from sheer adrenaline, though he tried his best to appear composed. It was proving very difficult because the mere sight of Buu so near him set sirens off in his mind. He was alert like a rabbit in traffic, however all productive thinking was smothered by a very present fear.

Buu took another step forward and that was all Vegeta needed. With a blast, his energy flared around him protectively. The pride in him was all that kept him from taking to the sky. He felt an utter smallness at that moment that he had never felt in the face of another living being- not Frieza, nor anyone- yet still he stayed. You could never completely kill the fight in a Saiyan. Vegeta's eyes threatened with the biggest bluff of his life.

The display was enough to give Buu pause but something in the fiery Saiyan's eyes betrayed his great fear. The sight was captivating to Buu.

From what Buu remembered- or rather gathered from his new memories- Vegeta had never worn those clothes before. Buu's eyes glided over the slight Saiyan appraisingly. Vegeta stood, slightly squatted, arms raised, in preparation to either fight or flee- flee, Buu guessed. His shirt had clearly been buttoned in a haste and his ill-fitting slacks hung loosely around his hips. The mutant guessed that if the Saiyan was not squatting slightly, there would be little to hold his pants up. The earth clothing flapped and danced loosely as Vegeta's energy rose around him.

"Vegeta, what's wrong?" a familiar twisted interest flared in the Mutant and dripped from his voice. He watched the prince with large, unblinking eyes. Vegeta wanted to shrink away from them but steeled himself.

Buu's interest in Vegeta was beyond the prince but it was apparent in every flicker of his eyes. What was getting under Vegeta's skin was the sincerity in his smile when he'd seen him. His bright and cheerful eyes bore no indication of the twisted deeds that had passed between them not twenty-four hours ago and the dark imagination that gave birth to them. This role the monster now played was baffling to the weary prince. Buu was behaving as though they were very good friends reuniting, or long lost lovers- Vegeta grimaced, hating the thought.

Buu could not explain the emotions that were overrunning his whole being. Had he a heart, it would be pounding inside of him at rate to rival Vegeta's, but not from fear. The sight of Vegeta then was almost too much for Buu to bear. The prince was not only alive and well(mostly), but he was standing there before him, as though presenting himself as a gift. And what a gift he was.

All at once, Buu was overcome with an urge to catch the prince close to him. He didn't know why and didn't care to think on it, but in an instant, and with little effort, he had precisely that.

Before Vegeta could blink, he felt a force catch and trap him against a hard surface. The surface was a meager patch of wall that was left jutting out from the wreckage and the force was Buu's body, quick and solid, now pressed firmly against. One of Buu's hands held both Vegeta's wrists while the other was clasped over the Saiyan's mouth. Buu examined him with the wide eyes and parted mouth of a child who was shocked to have just caught a bug. He held his breath. Then slowly, ever so cautiously, the hand holding Vegeta's mouth was lifted away. Buu looked like a bomb specialist who just cut a wire and now waited, desperately hoping it was the right one. He zeroed in on Vegeta's face, testing his reactions there.

"Get off of me, you freak!" Vegeta spat but he waited for the blast of ki or the harsh kick. His arms struggled in the hold of Buu's single hand but it was a pitiful attempt in his current state. The truth of the matter was that Vegeta had only been slightly masking his power when Buu had arrived. If Buu hadn't detected the hidden Saiyan, it was largely due to his severely weakened state.

Vegeta's struggles slowed after minutes when the heat of a blast didn't come. When he opened his eyes, he saw what looked something like awe and relief on Buu's face. It seemed that the monster was only examining him.

Buu knew what he was doing, though it may not have looked that way. He found he was exactly where he wanted to be, doing exactly what he wanted to do. It felt right. He hadn't felt this good all day. There was no conflict in his mind, no shouts of objection. At that moment, every molecule in his being was screaming 'Yes!" And without any thoughts or any doubt, he leaned down to bring his lips to Vegeta's.

"Vegeta? Vegeta are you alright? I'm starting to worry!"

Buu's eyes shot open. In an instant, his attention was snatched away. His free hand dove downward and Vegeta went rigid. Buu reached into Vegeta's pocket. When his hand emerged, in it was the communication device that was emitting Bulma's anxious voice.

The Saiyan was relieved at least that he hadn't reached in the other pocket because he would have found the Dragon radar.

Vegeta stood, breathing and slightly damp with nervous sweat. He said nothing but waited.

Buu examined the offensive device for only a moment before turning it to dust in his hand. His eyes returned to Vegeta.

The relief and elation the Siayan had seen in the deep crimson orbs before was all but vanished now. Instead Buu was cornering him with an accusing look. Accusing of what, Vegeta didn't know. Buu had no business accusing him of anything. The Saiyan returned the look with venom.

Suddenly a buzzing sound came humming from above, distant at first but quickly closing in on them. Vegeta couldn't see but he had an idea of what it was by the annoyed look on Buu's face.

The large machine was descending down upon the plot where Capsule Corp. once stood and Buu eyed it like a rude and belligerent intruder. The craft remained airborne as though waiting for Buu to make a move, threatening him even.

Buu could see with his keen sight an angry blue-haired woman in the pilot's seat, her fists clenched around the missile triggers. She posed no threat in her flimsy little aircraft. The intrusion served only to irritate him.

Vegeta wanted the craft gone. How stupid could the woman be- did she think she was going to rescue him? Now they were both dead- or worse- and that wouldn't help anything. He would have to somehow keep the mutant's attention on himself so that the earthlings could get away. Vegeta's eyes darted frantically as his mind immediately went to work on a plan to get- if not both of them- at least the others out of this. He did his best to keep his panic inside, horrified that at any moment a blast would be sent hurtling through the air, erasing the craft and it's inhabitants from existence.

But the blast never came.

Vegeta finally looked up, and saw Buu staring at only him again. The expression he saw there threw the Saiyan off completely. Buu looked lost and confused, like he wasn't sure what he was doing there, and what Vegeta was doing there and why, for that matter, they were standing so close. A play by play of everything thing that had taken place in the last few minutes was flashing in his eyes and as he came to a conclusion about it, the Saiyan before him came back into focus. The confusion in Buu passed and was replaced by something different entirely. Buu now fixed the Saiyan with a cold and distant look.

Without a word between them, it somehow dawned on Vegeta what the look meant.

Although it was Buu who'd leaned in for the kiss just moments before the aircraft arrived, the mutant was looking at Vegeta as though the treacherous Saiyan had somehow manipulated him into the position. He eyed the Saiyan up and down with a sort of disgust. He had sobered up somehow in the last twenty seconds and all romantic illusions had dissipated. He dropped the hand that held Vegeta's wrists and put a wide space between himself and the prince. And Vegeta was so confused he didn't move even though he was freed. All he could do was watch. Vegeta couldn't explain the way Buu's eyes were making him feel at that moment but he knew he ought to be insulted by their heavy, accusing gaze. They seemed to say, 'cheap,' and 'whore,' and other degrading things all in a stare. It baffled Vegeta.

After one last reproachful once-over, Buu turned quickly and fled from the destroyed plot like it was the scene of the crime.

Vegeta stood there for a few moments longer watching the pink form vanish into the distance. He wasn't paying attention to the humming of the air glider as it got louder and the craft descended. He didn't hear the frenzied footsteps of Bulma as she stumbled and leaped through the rocky wreckage to get to him. Vegeta only stared into the sky.

What had just happened?

Buu Stood alone on the peak of a jutting cliff. He had been there for a while. He had a lot to think about and a lot to get his mind around so to speak.

Buu had gone over and over what had almost happened at Capsule Corp. in his mind, not certain at all of what had driven him to react the way he had. He was certainly surprised to see Vegeta standing there alive after their last battle- but why had he embraced him that way? Sure, Buu had been riding quite a high from killing off Goku's loved ones and he was certainly feeling very giddy. Perhaps that was why he behaved the way he had. But Buu called his own lie. He could still feel Vegeta's firm chest rising and falling rapidly against his own and smell the sweat in his hair and he knew something in himself wasn't right.

One thing was certain: He couldn't allow what had happened back at Capsule Corp. to happen again and he feared it was getting worse. Though the voice of Goku seemed to be smothered, the tenacious Saiyan's mind was still very present and had an invisible but firm hand in Buu's every action. Buu needed an ally. He needed someone with a clear head and a neutral position who could act and think indiscriminately. While Goku was fused to his mind, Buu feared he could not be trusted to make sound decisions on his own. It was unfortunate that he could not dispose of the insufferable Saiyan without forfeiting his new, awesome power in doing so. Buu knew what he needed to do. It would involve some risk, but it had become clear that Buu could not carry out his objective alone.


	5. The Stolen Moment

A Stolen Moment

All was quiet on Dende's Lookout. But there was tension in the air.

Whispers in the halls carried only faintly to a large and open guest bedroom where Vegeta was leaning on a wall by the window. He didn't have to strain to make out Bulma's bouncing voice. However, he only caught wisps of Dende's, which was much gentler.

"He's not talking to anyone!" Bulma shrieked from down the hall, "Won't you just try, Dende? I'm sure you're the only one he would open up to!"

The brash woman never did quite grasp the concept of whispering.

Vegeta didn't catch Dende's response but it sounded like he was trying to calm her, and keep her at bay. He had a knack for getting in people's head's and making them feel calm when they don't want to. He knew that it wouldn't bee long before the young Namekian was visiting his room with the intention of getting in his own head. Vegeta hadn't decided whether or not he would let him yet. Until then, the prince was content zoning them out entirely. He turned to the open window.

Vegeta was so tired.

Quiet moments like this were the worst. He tried to focus on the wind gently brushing his face. The sun was setting and the sky was a flame of orange and blood-red. The colors looked violent to Vegeta and made him think of pain and a suffering that never seemed to end in a place where no one would ever be able to help.

He shut his eyes away from the blinding brightness of it but it was still in his mind.

"_Kakarot!"_

_The beast looked down on him with those dark eyes that were so cold and sadistic._

"_Say it."_

"_please...please_ _fuck me."_

Vegeta crammed the heels of his palms into his eye sockets and grunted, trying to block out the images. But the sounds of rustling leaves and deep moaning and his own shaky voice still resounded in his head. He felt a wave of shame.

"_please fuck me"_

With a yell, he threw his fists into the wall behind him and slid down to the floor, hiding his head in his arms. At that point, Dende walked in.

Vegeta threw him a killing look that was not intended for him. Dende seemed to understand that and didn't appear affected.

The quiet Namekian walked softly over to the window and knelt down in front of Vegeta.

The prince watched him curiously, unsure of what would happen next.

To the guardian, the Saiyan looked like a lost and wild little boy. Dende had always seen the boy there, but until recently, it had only been in glimpses. Now there he was, small and alone and undone, needing so much but unsure of how to ask- unsure of who to trust. So instead of reaching out to anyone, he chased away everyone.

Dende could see that the little boy had been pushed too far and was on the brink of either asking or breaking.

Dende leaned in closer to the prince's face. Vegeta, uncertain, held a threat in his eyes but Dende did not hesitate nor did he show any signs of noticing the discomfort in the prince. At that moment, as Dende was seeing the boy in the prince,Vegeta finally saw the young Namekian, who they'd found alone and orphaned all those years ago, as a man. He saw some Piccolo in the eyes that held so much ageless wisdom. He wondered how Dende had come to know people so well that he knew he could safely get this close to them. Vegeta was slightly jealous. He had never been one for connecting with others. Until that moment he'd always told himself it was by choice.

Dende reached his hand out and placed it on Vegeta's head. Vegeta was so startled by the act, he almost jerked away from the hand. But as he felt it on his head, gentle and warm and noninvasive, his body eased. He looked into Dende's calm and knowing face and he opened his mouth. he wanted to say something biting and harsh, something that would sting the boy and give him a fraction of the pain he felt. But the words fell away with all the tension in his body once the green skin grazed his own. So he relaxed into the touch, unused to the softness of it. His head felt heavy and he let it fall and rest on his arms, propped on his knees.

He felt like the moment was stolen. He had no business feeling pleasure and ease when so much was wrong in the world- when so much was wrong in himself. But he found that all he could do was rest there, nuzzling the hand as it moved to stroke his hair. Small whimpers were escaping his mouth before he'd realized it and a warmth trailed down his cheeks.

He was crying and he couldn't stop himself.

He tapped his toes absently, waiting for it to pass.

Dende said nothing and expected nothing. He gave what comfort he could and Vegeta accepted it.

Dende sat silently under the window a comfortable distance from Vegeta. His arms were propped on his knees, mimicking the prince's casual posture.

"Why is he doing this, Dende?" Vegeta finally said. He had composed himself and he felt more opened, as though the tears had washed away whatever was clogging his emotions.

"I know as much as you do." said Dende.

"He left me alive," said Vegeta, thinking aloud, "after we fought. Why would he do that? And then today, he..." he seemed to doubt his own recollection, "he tried to..."

"I think there is a Saiyan pull in him," Dende cut it, and Vegeta was grateful to not have to finish his thought, "as well as a Namekian pull and a human one. All of these things, I think, have built up in him to such a point that his personality can no longer go unaffected. Compassion and love, like hate and sadism, are not beyond him.

"I will say this." Dende continued and Vegeta looked at him, "It seems like the most powerful being Buu absorbs will have the greatest influence on him- not only in power but in behavior."

"You think that Kakarot..." Vegeta began tonelessly and sharp images of the grove flashed in his mind.

"I think that Goku's presence has certainly had an effect on Buu's personality." Dende quickly interjected, "I do believe that his strong influence in Buu's mind contributed to what happened- however indirectly. Buu's natural lust for destruction and chaos mixed with your and Goku's deep kinship took an effect that none of us could have predicted. While Goku's absorption may have lent to the horrible thing that happened to you, I believe that it is also the reason you are alive. I don't think you should look any further into it than that."

Vegeta turned away. He didn't feel repulsed anymore by mention of what happened in the grove. Now he just felt wearied by it and he longed to leave it all behind him.

"Can you see him now?"

Dende closed his eyes and sat quietly for a long while and Vegeta wondered if he was going to share his vision at all.

"He's standing on a cliff."

While Vegeta didn't have the guardian's gift, the image of Buu standing still and quiet on the cliff manifested itself in his mind, easily and vividly.

"He's waiting."

"For what?"

Dende watched for a few moments longer.

"Now it looks like he's in pain. He's screaming."

Vegeta wasn't sure how to take that bit of information and was about to ask the Namekian to clarify on what he'd seen but soon he didn't need to.

Dende and Vegeta opened their eyes at the same time and looked at each other. Although the both of them knew from Dende's vision that Buu was standing far below them on a distant canyon, the sound of his agonized screams were now echoing all around them.

The two stood up and looked out the window as though Buu would be standing out there to greet them. Buu was not there but his screams had carried up to the lookout and were reverberating throughout its halls. As if called, everyone residing in the sanctuary peeked out from the many rooms and ran out to the clearing in search of the source or someone who knew what was going on. It was definitely Buu. He sounded like he was dying.

Vegeta turned to Dende as if the young Namekian would have an answer but the look he saw in the guardian's face mirrored his own.

What now?


	6. Spawn of a Monster

The Spawn of a Monster

All was still on Dende's Lookout. The gathered survivors waited in bated breath- for what, they weren't sure.

"Well?" Vegeta asked impatiently, tapping a finger absently on his folded arms. The guardian had been standing there for some time without a word. His eyes were closed, but he could see more than any of them. Right now he was seeing why the screaming had stopped.

Dende was silent for a moment longer, then said "there's two of them."

gasps of shock and horror split the silence and all at once the crowd was in an uproar.

"What! How are there two of them?" Chichi shrieked.

"So he can just sprout a duplicate of himself whenever he choses?" came the whaling voice of Yamcha, "that's not fair! How are we supposed to beat that!"

"Yes but don't think of it as so much of an advantage." came Dende's gentle voice amidst all the hysteria, and everyone stilled, "the procedure appears to have split his power between the two of them. If you focus, you'll sense that neither of them is as strong as the original. Unfortunately however, they are both still extraordinarily powerful." The others exchanged frowns.

"This one is less powerful?" Vegeta said above the murmurs. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, Vegeta," said Dende, catching the look in the brash Saiyan's eye, "but as I said- _still_ very powerful. I'll put it this way, yours and Goku's energy put together wasn't enough to beat Buu and that was _before _he absorbed Goku. With a fraction of that power, he's still powerful, Vegeta. You can't be thinking-"

"What, Guardian? I can't be thinking of taking advantage of this opportunity that may never come up again? You expect us to wait it out? Just see what happens? Buu has been doing nothing but grow more and more powerful while we just sit up here wasting time!"

"Vegeta," cried Bulma, "at least wait until we get the Dragonballs!"

"Augh! If I hear another word about the Dragonballs! If there was ever a chance we could beat Buu, it's now and I'm not going to sit here and wait for it to pass. Even if it means just killing a fraction of him, I'll kill him piece by piece!"

"Vegeta, now isn't the time!" Shouted Dende.

But the haughty prince had flown off. Bulma ran after him as far as the edge of the lookout.

Standing there, panting, she watched his form descend.

"This might be good." Dende said, appearing beside her. He watched as the Saiyan vanished beneath the clouds.

"What?" Bulma sounded exasperated, "how can this be good, Dende? Buu's going to kill him!"

"Buu won't kill him. I know he won't. At least this way we can see how powerful this second Buu really is. We can learn what we're up against."

"Great. We'll just observe and take notes up here while Vegeta gets beaten to a pulp!"

"We don't know what will happen. We can only wait."

Bulma stared long and hard at the oddly calm guardian, so frustrated she couldn't find words. Then finally she sighed, resigned to the helpless possession in which they found themselves. She put her hand on the young Namekian's shoulder and closed her eyes to see what he saw.

"Might as well," she said.

Soon, other's gathered to see what was going on. Then more came. Soon, all of them were crowded around the Guardian of Earth. Together, they joined hands and minds and watched what would unfold below.

Buu appraised his spawn with a fathering look. He did not see perfection because only _he_- Buu- as a whole could be perfect. He saw promise though.

This new side of himself would be different from his original form in one huge aspect. The process of splitting his body was one thing but creating an elaborate incision in his mind was something far more complex. If it was successful, he'd be damned proud. He couldn't tell for certain but he felt that every part of Goku was still wholly within himself, which meant that this other being did not have any of him. And if this being- his creation- didn't have any Goku at all, then he couldn't be tainted by any of the putrid Saiyan's _weaknesses_, Buu reasoned. It was brilliant.

Until Buu worked out whatever was going on in his head, he would need this extra mind, this separate entity, to work along side him to do...whatever it was he was doing.

Buu gave his head a shake to focus himself. Then he looked at his new creation.

"You are Bow," he said to it, "you are my ally and you will work alongside me to achieve our common goal."

"I am Bow." said the creation and he grinned. The voice was lower, calmer than Buu's. However, he had a younger face and was slightly smaller. His head tilted low as he returned Buu's look of appraisal with a look of quiet arrogance, as though he was aware of the great achievement he represented simply by existing. There was a mysterious glint in his dark eyes, which matched his creator's.

Buu laughed, loudly and raucously and Bow laughed with him, however it was a lower more course sound. This celebration would have gone on for some time but was quickly cut short when an intruder made himself know.

"Well," came Vegeta's voice, "that's taking split personalities to a new level."

Buu stopped laughing and spun around to see the arrogant Saiyan watching them, arms folded over his chest.

"Vegeta," the name fell from Buu's lips without a thought. He was so caught off guard by the prince he wasn't sure at the moment of what else to say. Instantly he remembered the disorienting nature of their last encounter and felt even more at a loss.

Vegeta noticed but tried not to dwell on the change in Buu's face. His features were more Saiyan than ever before. The likeness was just short of dawning the face of Kakarot. Had it not been for the pink skin, the black eyes and the antenna in place of unruly dark hair, Vegeta might have been standing before his

"I see you've made another freak." Vegeta said, shunting the odd stare Buu was giving him and indicating with a disgusted nod to Bow, "needed a babysitter?"

And like that, Buu was awoken from his stupor.

"Ah, I don't think you've met my friend here." he said, indicating pleasantly to the creature over his shoulder, "this is Bow. You won't like him, he's not as nice as me."

Vegeta sensed that the power of Bow was indeed less than Buu's and a rich excitement flared in him greater than any he'd felt in a long time. There was hope yet.

"Well maybe we ought to get acquainted. If you'd excuse us," replied Vegeta and before Buu could respond, the prince was rushing forward.

Buu was just able to dodge but he soon realized that he didn't need to. Vegeta was going for Bow.

Bow on the other hand, did not dodge but took a fist right to the nose. His head jerked back but the onslaught of fists and knees continued.

"Idiot!" Dende shouted, fist clenched at his side, "he's so brash!"

"well there's Vegeta for you." Bulma groaned.

Vegeta persisted with ferocious attack after attack, pummeling the unprepared mutant until they were off the cliff and hovering in the air. Buu watched, mouth agape, just trying to catching up with what was happening.

The one sided fight carried on brutally for a short while and ended with a large blast dealt by the Saiyan. It was a short-ranged blast that went pointblank into the duplicate's gut.

The blast dissipated and Vegeta was left panting with his arms extended. The quick and sudden outburst took much out of him but he reasoned it was worth the effort.

The smoke cleared and soon, to Vegeta's dismay, the form of Bow emerged, looking virtually untouched.

Bow watched Vegeta patiently and the prince's eyes widened.

"He has the patience of piccolo in him." said Master Roshi thoughtfully, "there's intelligence there."

"Funny, you'd think absorbing Goku would have diluted that a little bit."

"Cram it, Oolong!" said Chichi.

"No, no. he's right." said Dende, "this part of him … is different. He's not at all like he was before. It's not the same power and his behavior is completely changed. I don't think that there's as much Goku in this one."

"Alright, can we quit debating which side he gets it from and just watch!" came Krillin's voice.

"Is it my turn now?" Bow asked the Saiyan, head cocked.

Vegeta, grimacing, staggered back.

Bow snatched Vegeta's firing arm and held it tightly in his hand.

Vegeta, shocked, tried to pull away, but unsuccessfully. In a second, the other wrist was captured as well. Bow held Vegeta's opposite arms in each his steady hands and criss-crossed them tightly over Vegeta's chest. Vegeta, helpless to pull away, could only hang and squirm in the uncomfortable position and hold a fiery stare with the mutant.

A few seconds passed in which Vegeta spent feeling antsy and uncomfortable. He grimaced and sweat, waiting for this Bow to make the next move. He didn't have to wait long.

With a curve of this whole body, Bow leaned back and then, with a heave, rammed his head forward into Vegeta's.

Vegeta whaled in pain and fell back. Bow released his wrists only to catch the stunned Saiyan's torso in a lethal bear hug.

Vegeta kicked and swung his head around but the hold was iron tight, encompassing his whole torso and arms. Bow's grinning face leaned away from the violently squirming prince so as to avoid getting butted.

Vegeta grunted and cursed and struggled with all his might but the arms around him only squeezed tighter. He felt his arms and face go warm from lack of circulation.

Tighter and tighter Bow squeezed him as effortlessly as if he were squeezing a dog's chew toy.

Vegeta gasped and saw his vision going dark.

"God, he's just so sadistic! Who could he get this from? He's freakin' psycho!" shrieked Yamcha, feeling helpless.

"That's all Buu." said Dende solemnly.

Vegeta felt his lungs contracting against their will and the creaking threat of broken ribs. He shut his eyes and screamed through gritted teeth, succumbing to the gory end that was sure to come. When it did end, it was not how he expected.

"Not now." came a cool and steady voice that sounded to Vegeta like it came from the end of a long hallway.

Bow removed his fixated stare from the twisted, agonized features of the prince and turned to his maker. Through slits of eyelids, Vegeta could see the almost unreadable face of Bow. He would describe the look as completely empty; soulless.

"He's not healed yet. He's barely even sport." Buu finished.

With a tweak of his brow and a slight shrug of agreement, Bow released Vegeta. And the dizzy Saiyan was so unprepared for the fall that he dropped a good distance before catching himself in an unsteady hover.

He grabbed and massaged his weakened arms and took deep rasping breaths. When he looked up, he saw Buu and Bow hovering there, making no move to attack him. It was Buu who was looking down at him. He wore a stony and unreadable look. They held the stare for a few moments, then Buu said something to his creation and the two took off into the horizon.

Vegeta watched them vanish, still panting and aching all over. He let out a whale of rage that was heard all the way up at the Lookout.

"Well you should be glad that you didn't suffer any serious damage." scolded Dende softly, "maybe now you'll listen when I tell you to get some rest."

"Just give me a damn senzu bean!"

"We're working on that. You guys used what we had."

Vegeta gave a frustrated grunt and the sheets jerked as he heaved a kick.

"Listen, just rest for tonight. You'll need to rebuild your energy. Now we know what we're up against."

Dende left Vegeta in his darkened bedroom like a grounded teenager. There was nothing to keep the anxious Saiyan from hopping back out of bed and storming off to go train, but Dende had a feeling he would concede to the guardian's wishes if not his own bodies obvious need for recuperation.

Dende walked along the open patio until he came upon a room filled with chattering voices.

"What's the point. It's not like any other planet would be safer. It'll only be a matter of time before he goes and conquers them too! I vote we just let him kill us and hang out at King Kai's!"

"Krillin!" Boomed Bulma's voice.

"What!"

"That's ridiculous."

"No, he's right," chimed Yamcha, "'cause we're already dead, what more can he do to us, you know?"

Dende stood in the door way.

"Well how are you going to come back, genius's?" said Bulma, crossing her arms.

"Easy, Namekian Dragonballs," said Krillin.

"Right, and what happens when he destroys Namek along with the Dragonballs?"

"I got it!" Krillin clapped his hands, "when we die, we take the Dragonballs with us!"

There was a solid smacking sound from Bulma's hand finding the back of Krillin's head.

"Ouch! Hey!"

Bulma looked up and saw the young guardian watching them with a smile that was both happy and solemn at the same time.

They all greeted him warmly and Bulma stood up and went to stand next to him so that they could speak more privately.

"How is he?"

"His pride is more wounded than his body. Fortunately, I think his body heals much quicker."

The two laughed at the hard Saiyan they had both come to know very well.

"Do you think he can beat them?" Bulma asked, her voice going serious.

"I don't know, honestly. But I've been around these Saiyans too long to ever underestimate them. I would not soon count Vegeta out of the fight."

Bulma nodded but did not comment further on it, "So what do you think about this new Buu? Why would he create a duplicate of himself? Why would he _need _another one?"

They left the light and noise of the lounge and walked together along the moon-lit patio.

"It's hard to say." Dende admitted, "Buu needed this new creature but I can't say exactly why."

"well why do you think?" Bulma pressed, sensing that the guardian was keeping something from her.

"I think," said Dende, choosing his words carefully, "that Buu feels a weakness in himself. A weakness that arose when he absorbed Goku."

"Weakness?"

"Yes. What ever the nature of this weakness, it was enough for him to feel he could not trust his mind in it's whole state. He needed a separate one, one that was free of the weakness. What it will mean for us all, I don't know. I can't say anymore. I feel that everything will make itself clear in time."

"Dende,"

"Yes."

"Is he going to be alright?"

They had come upon Vegeta's room and Bulma was peering in. In the glow of the moonlight cast through his window, they could see the heaving and sweat-sheened form of Vegeta toiling in his sheets. He was panting and grunting inaudible things under his breath.

Dende knew that Bulma was no longer referring to his physical condition.

"What ever haunts him, it's something we can't help him defeat. He must overcome it himself. Worry about what you can do for the rest, Bulma."

The human woman turned to him, a look of wonder on her face.

"The Dragonballs, Bulma."

"Yes," she said faintly, "the Dragonballs."


	7. The Calm

**The Calm Before the Storm**

Buu's plan had unfolded meticulous.

Buu hovered there taking in the sight of his fledgling. Bow had just leveled a major city without any noticeable dent in his power. But not before turning the entire occupancy of a major penitentiary into cream cakes and downing them all like tic-tacs. That fact that he hadn't even offered to share was a little daunting to Buu but then again, Bow was a bit more evil than himself. He'd been made to be that way- cold and detached. He now hovered some feet away, flaunting his coordination and agility as he threw swift jabs and kicks at the air. Buu looked on appreciatively but beneath the proud grin was an odd sting of regret.

What was more beautiful than the successful creation of the being before him was the sight of a plan falling neatly into place. Buu had managed to destroy all of Goku's worldly attachments, leaving his conscious nothing to cling to and so blending what was left of the trophy Saiyan seamlessly into his mind. He no longer felt or heard a separate presence in his thoughts. He didn't feel torn between what he knew and what he felt. The foreign and imposing cloud over his head had lifted and there was now only Buu.

While he'd become smoother around the edges, there was one fault in Buu's plan; one weak link in the chain; a break in the tracks. It wasn't the fact that he'd had to split his power, though that might have seemed to be a set back. However, Vegeta's quick defeat at the hands of Bow quickly disposed of that fear. No, what picked at Buu had nothing to do with Bow. The being before him, had proved satisfactory in every aspect.

The fault, the it stung to admit it, was himself.

Buu was careful to keep all of the Saiyan's traits and powers out of the new creature, so as to make Bow a cold and unbiased warrior and also so that he, Buu, could keep all the awesome power of the super Saiyan 3. While this allowed him to remain immeasurably powerful, he had become more vulnerable to the traits that were holding him back to begin with. He had given so much to Bow that there was less variety now in himself to dilute the weaknesses he'd been working so hard to counteract. The traits of Goku would become more potent, he knew. He couldn't see it, but he felt different somehow.

Silently he meditated over his own gift and curse. He felt pride and loathing for it. It would keep him alive and immeasurably powerful but he knew- somehow, in his gut _he knew_- the absorption of Goku would lead to his inevitable downfall.

The hunch was brief but resonant. He didn't know where it came from. There was no voice in his head, no laughter mocking him from that isolated portion of his mind. It was only a feeling and it vibrated throughout his whole being. And he knew it was right.

Buu clenched and unclenched his fists absently, staring downward at the ruins of the city but sparing no thought to them.

Bow, having felt the spotlight of attention leave him, stopped showboating as there was no one watching him now.

"Well?" He stated, seeing the blank look in his maker's eye, "are we just going to wait here?"

Buu looked at him and realized they'd been hovering there idly for a good while.

"We'll do as I say." Buu said with a calm severity and he began to descend, "we'll make camp."

Bow watched him descend but did not move and did not look enthused at all by the idea.

"What of the humans?" he called after his maker, "and that Saiyan?"

"Are you hungry?"

Vegeta stood in the shade of a large palm tree that surely defied several laws of physics just by existing there in the hovering temple.

From where he stood, Vegeta could see into the open yard. There, huddled together in a small circle on the white tile, sat Dende and four small children. The young Namekian was reading aloud from a book and they all listened intently.

Vegeta didn't recognize the children and didn't know where they'd come from. He guessed they had been pulled from the wreckage of one the many desolate cities before Buu could find them and eat them. Vegeta wondered if their parents had been rescued too or if they were here alone. The prince had never seen them before. Where had Dende been keeping them? The meager temple with it's many mysteries, seemed to have space enough to spare for anyone who needed it, Vegeta supposed. Since when did Dende's Lookout become the local shelter? The guardian was too soft. Soon this place would be crawling with orphaned children and teenager and probably every stray dog, cat and gerbil from the local humane society. Was there no sanctity anymore?

Vegeta listened from a distance to the story the guardian told. With his soft voice and his gentle manor, it seemed obvious to the Saiyan that Dende would be good with children.

Vegeta did not have the gift of connecting with kids. A good example of that was his relationship with his own son. Trunks was a patient boy, more patient than Vegeta deserved. He was gone now. Vegeta had been rudely reminded of that fact days earlier when he looked in the face of the new creature Buu had pulled out of himself. There was a wild disregard in the new mutant's eyes, a taunt and a teenage sense of entitlement. Vegeta realized later that it was all the brashness of the young Saiyan whom Vegeta had quietly come to adore and something inside of him stung. He grimaced and tucked it away.

Dende read on until Mr. Popo came out and called the children in for dinner.

Vegeta didn't watch them but heard their cheerful voices go distant as they ran off to the dining room.

Dende watched them off and closed his book but did not leave his spot in the sun. He rested there and appeared to be thinking over things.

The day was long and drawn out and far too relaxed for Vegeta's comfort. He knew it was a false calm.

He'd brought back the dragon radar and they could now move on to the next phase of their plan. The Earth invention had been long retired and needed some tweaking before it was in good working order again. Bulma had been busy repairing it ever since Vegeta had returned with it. He expected it would be ready soon.

While he waited, Vegeta generally spent his days in a secluded training room in the depths of the temple. He had no interest in squabbling over what to do about Buu with the others, and he certainly did _not_ attend the meetings (much to the irritation of Bulma who continued to adamantly insist his attendance was imperative). All in all, Vegeta generally kept to himself.

But every so often, on quiet days when people were busy doing their separate things and not roaming the premise, pestering him simply by breathing, he would be drawn out to the sunlight to seek the calming presence of the guardian.

He never sought out Dende directly, but his stance and disquieted demeanor were plea enough and the guardian would know that the Saiyan was in need of someone to talk to.

On days like this, When Vegeta did not feel his skin crawling so badly and when he was not fighting back some mixture of rage and apathy, when he did not need to pour out his darkest fears and deepest regrets into the the young and patient guardian, he found himself seeking out Dende's presence simply for the gentle calm that seemed to surround the young guardian. It was as though the very air wherever the Namekian went was laced with some mild sedative. While Vegeta would not admit it, he'd developed a craving for it. Just being near the guardian never failed to ease whatever burdened him at least a little.

Vegeta was back to his full power, and stronger even, thanks to his Saiyan genes. A few days earlier, Dende had presented Vegeta with a Senzu bean. Vegeta was eager to immediately get back to an intense training regimen. It was unfortunate that the plants produced so few and took such a long time to harvest, but Vegeta didn't plan on being beaten so thoroughly again.

"Taking a break from the training I see?" came Bulma's cheery voice.

Vegeta acknowledged her with a look.

"Good timing! So you can do me a little favor."

What was it about him standing there, minding his own business that gave off the air that he wanted an errand. When ever he did this, people seemed to get the urge to come up to him and start giving him personal chores. This was why he hardly ever came out anymore.

"No, no, no." Bulma said quickly, seeing the prince's demeanor change from generally annoyed to extremely irritated, "this is very important." she pulled the dragon radar from her pocket.

"Busy," Vegeta said immediately, not up for the condescension today. As though he wasn't the strongest being alive. She could easily get someone else to do it. One of the humans they rescued who'd been doing nothing since but eating their food and wandering around uselessly. Or hey- Krillin.

"Come on Vegeta," Bulma said, voice dropping to a more natural, serious tone, "we need your speed and we can't send someone else. What if they run into Buu?"

Vegeta eyed her, irritation etching his features.

"Since when did I become the errand dog of this institution?"

"You're not the errand dog, Vegeta!" she paused with a look that, to Vegeta, suggested she was trying very hard to think of some evidence to prove otherwise. Finally, giving up, she said frazzled, "It's not like you're doing anything anyway!"

"Oh!"

Dende heard the escalating voices and reluctantly abandoned his lounged position and moved closer to try and referee the exchange.

They went on for a while longer before Vegeta grudgingly accepted the radar, being none too gentle as he snatched it from his wife.

"Don't be such a toddler!" Bulma hissed.

Dende laughed nervously, glad that the dispute was settled. He was of course on Bulma's side. He knew that Vegeta was a vital piece in the plan, but the Dragonballs were paramount. Their careful and prompt collection would mean the rescue of the planet from the clutches of Buu. But still, Bulma should have known that Vegeta would react that way to any mention of the Dragonballs. The current demand of the Dragonballs now paralleled the demand of Goku when he was alive. It was as though Vegeta was always second in regard. And now, the prince was being sent to fetch the things- the mark of his incompetence. Dende felt for the haughty prince but didn't know if they would have time for Vegeta to attain the power it would take to even stand a chance against Buu and his new partner in destruction.

"Listen , for now I just need you to go see if it's working." Bulma said to Vegeta, who didn't even look at her, "I'm not certain how exact the reading is right now but it says there's a Dragonball about 250 kilometers east of here. I need you to go check it out and come back here and let me know how close the reading is."

"No, I was thinking of just staying there, waiting for more Dragonballs to pop up." Vegeta spat sarcastically and flew off.

Bulma shouting after him, "Hey be careful with that! It's the only one we've got!"

Once again, Vegeta was being sent on errands. He couldn't help feeling that that was all they felt he'd been good for recently. He didn't suppose it helped that he'd been defeated decisively both times he'd tried to face Buu. But didn't they realize that Saiyan power rose at a rate unrivaled by any other warrior race in the universe. With every beating he got, it was like receiving a boost of power. He was getting stronger and closer to Buu's level. Even if Buu did have Saiyan genes in him, his power would not grow at a rate anywhere near Vegeta's because he had left both battles virtually unscathed. Vegeta knew he was on the brink of hitting new and remarkable heights in power. He just needed a little more time.

Vegeta had been flying for nearly an hour when something in the distance snapped him to attention.

It was pink, powerful and fast and it was coming right for him. Before Vegeta could formulate a plan, Buu's spawn was upon him. He was alone.

The mutant slowed and stopped, a wide berth between he and the prince.

Vegeta could tell that he hadn't intended to run into him either and was perhaps just as caught off guard as Vegeta was. Vegeta, however, was in the unfortunate position of being caught off guard and being the less powerful of the two, so his situation was arguably worse.

"Hello." Bow said and one side of his mouth tweaked upward in a half-grin that looked oddly void of anything like happiness.

Vegeta wasn't yet ready to beat him but he would fight him if it came to that. He just needed to hide the dragon radar. If a beating would see to it that their stupid plan wasn't thwarted, he would take one for the team. It wouldn't be the first time and, knowing himself, it wouldn't be the last.

Vegeta didn't return the greeting but offered a wince of acknowledgement to the other as he carefully slid the radar into his back pocket.

"Off to someplace?" Bow finally asked, low voice feigning a conversational tone.

If Bow had some place else to be, he wasn't showing it. Vegeta hoped he didn't look too suspicious just flying around on a daily stroll.

Vegeta thought a moment, then said, "just flying," through his teeth. He wore a look that said, what of it?

This answer didn't appear to register at all on Bow. That or he was just too busy intently gaging Vegeta's facial expression and body language for any tell-tale signs of the lie to respond. He still held that half-cocked gaze that made Vegeta wonder if Buu had distributed a fully functional mind into his spawn or left some vital parts out. He looked half nuts.

After a long couple of minutes, in which Vegeta spent preparing for the sudden wild attack from Bow, the mutant finally said, "well if you are going some place, you might change your plans."

"Why's that?" Vegeta spat.

"Because it's probably gone." Bow said carelessly and his grin widened.

"Bow!" Buu suddenly appeared between them. It was a testament to his power that Vegeta hadn't even seen him coming. Buu offered the Saiyan a quick glance before nodding at his comrade significantly. Buu's back was the last thing Vegerta saw before the mutant flew off again in the same direction the other had been heading when Vegeta had crossed paths with him.

Bow watched Buu fly ahead before turning back to the prince.

Bow gave a slight nod which Vegeta returned, noting the dark look in the other's eyes and the promise behind them. I'll see you later, they said.

Vegeta just hovered there for a few minutes longer after Bow flew away. He'd hidden it well but he was frozen in absolute fear. When he felt secure that the two Buu's would not turn back to come finish him, he took a deep breath and turned and flew the opposite way.

Vegeta couldn't help feeling like he'd narrowly escaped something he shouldn't have. He knew when he saw Bow, as Buu had called him, that he wouldn't make it to where he was going today. He knew it. Had Buu not shown up, Vegeta thought, he probably wouldn't be flying away right now. He almost couldn't believe it. He argued amongst himself knowing that he shouldn't have been left there unharmed. They couldn't have just passed him by. It was lunacy!

Vegeta's breaths were coming harshly as though he'd been holding it the whole time the mutant had been staring him down. Adrenaline was still pumping through him. When Buu had arrived, it peaked.

Why had Buu left him there? And where were they going that was so important that they couldn't stop and spare a moment to beat him again. Perhaps they were bored of him.

Suddenly, Vegeta heard a fanatic beeping from his back pocket and remembered what he was sent to do.

Below him was an endless stretch of rock formations and deep canyons. According to the radar, there was also a Dragonball in the area.

The pointer on the screen indicated to a spot in an open plane. Vegeta knew it wouldn't be buried so the radar had to have been some distance off like Bulma had predicted. It wasn't far off, however. Vegeta spotted, sitting nestled and alone in a heap of twigs, atop a large rock pillar, the four star Dragonball. It was bright and gleaming in what looked like a very large bird's nest.

Vegeta had found the Dragonball. He had it in his hands. He felt his spirits immediately soar at the closeness of it. He supposed the excitement he felt had become intuitive from a long history of chasing these things down for his own gratification and personal advancement. There was a time when he would have killed for a Dragonball and did. Now, however, he didn't want it. It was an odd feeling.

He examined it in his hands. He couldn't bring it with him. If he ran into Buu and Bow again...

Vegeta couldn't be caught with it.

He flew up 100 feet in the air and looked about the area, unsure of what exactly he was looking for. Suddenly, he found it.

A cave.

He swooped down just close enough to fling the Dragonball inside. It would be safe there until he felt confident he could go retrieve it without anymore unexpected run-in's with the Buu's.

Vegeta quickly returned to Dende's Lookout and told Bulma that her shoddy repair job put the marker half a kilometer off target. He was lucky it was out in the open or else he wouldn't have found the damn thing.

Bulma huffed and shouted at him before briskly leaving to go fix the discrepancy.

Buu flew along side his minion.

Controlling Bow was like controlling a feral animal, Buu decided. It had been hard for Buu to refrain his spawn when they'd run into Vegeta again. It had been even harder to explain to him why they continued to ignore the little refuge in the sky. Buu told his creation that they were waiting for them to gather their strengths so that they would prove to be a greater challenge- a greater feast. This reasoning pacified Bow for the time being. However, Buu knew that eventually they would have to go up there. Buu wasn't certain why he still felt reluctant to even go near the Lookout. He guessed it must be another defect from his most recent transformations. On second thought, perhaps a visit to the lookout would be just what he needed to stomp out the last of those clinging traits.

But not now. For now, they would wait.

Vegeta was up to something when they ran into him, of that Buu was certain. And maybe they really were gathering their strength to ultimately take him on. If that were the case, Buu couldn't help the bit of excitement that stirred in his belly at the prospect of a real challenge. He hadn't had one since before absorbing the Saiyans.

And maybe it was that Saiyan fire in him that made Buu's spirits soar at the promise of a worthy fight. Either way, he was content for the time being to wait and see what the Earthlings were planning. As Buu grew more excited, Bow grew restless.

He didn't comprehend Buu's apparent hesitation to blast the temple out of the sky. At first he thought there was wisdom behind it- a clever patience that was beyond Bow. But, as the days passed and Buu continued to deflect questions about the mysterious floating temple, Bow began to suspect that there was something more to it. Something Buu was hiding from him.

While Bow had a lust for destruction, he also had a compulsive desire for the things that were forbidden to him. Buu had, on multiple occasions, made the untimely mistake of denying him something. As Buu deterred attention away from Vegeta and the temple, Bow found himself wanting them more and more. He wanted to watch the temple burn out of the sky amidst horrified screams of its helpless inhabitant; And as for the pompous Saiyan, he not only want to kill him now, he wanted to break him and watch him crumble.

While Bow was not a patient creation, he was a clever one. And like a rotten child, he would have what he wanted.


	8. The Midnight Meeting and A New Hope

Weeks passed.

Vegeta clung to a solution that didn't involve the Dragonballs. Dende was sympathetic to his friend and for a while, indulged him. Vegeta was convinced that with a little more time and extensive training he would be able to attain a power great enough at least to skim the power of Buu's fledgling- that way they would at least stand a chance. Dende sensed the power of Bow, however, and could not pretend to be very optimistic. Ever patient, though he was, he worried for time.

While there was no foreseeable time limit, Dende knew that they didn't have the amount of time it would take for Vegeta to make such a leap in power. He felt it. It would only be a matter of time before Buu's eye was fixed on the temple. He kindly suggested an alternative solution which also would not involve the Dragonballs.

Vegeta was reluctant but eager to play a greater role in the plan to save the Earth than the one he was currently playing as errand boy. He agreed to discuss Dende's idea.

One warm and breezy night when everyone was asleep, they met in Vegeta's room to speak in private.

"I need you to remember, Vegeta. Think back to the day in the grove." said Dende.

Vegeta was apprehensive, to say the least, about thinking back to the day Buu had beaten him in his new form. Thinking of the swift and decisive defeat was asking much of the proud prince but asking him to recall what had happened afterward was a different sort of request entirely. In fact, if anyone but Dende had asked this of him—not that anyone else aside from the guardian knew- Vegeta would retort briskly and with a finality that would leave no question that the topic was dead, never to be brought up again.

But it was Dende.

Vegeta inhaled sharply and held it. He hadn't spoken or even implied about what had happened to him since damn near bawling in the Namekian's arms those weeks ago. That was another thing which Vegeta would prefer be left buried.

"Why," he finally said, voice oddly passive.

"It's very important that you try and think back to that day, Vegeta. You will understand."

"Wh...what? I don't understand. What's this got to do with ..." Vegeta's voice seemed to be getting quieter of it's own accord as though it too was fleeing from the conversation.

Regardless of how hard Vegeta tried to avoid thinking about it, as deep down as he'd managed to bury the memories, they were all at once coming back to the surface. It was as though the mere mentioning of it was summoning it back with full force, which was perhaps why he'd so strictly avoided even thinking about it. The dam was quickly breaking apart and the long-oppressed waters were bursting through.

Dende was vanishing before his eyes.

"It's alright Vegeta. I was there. The whole time. I was with you. I'm here now. You're not alone. I need you to remember what happened."

Vegeta gasped as his vision suddenly clouded over. The the quiet, moonlit room and Dende's intent face was replaced by a dark and wild wood. Vegeta was pinned to the large and course bolder by thick tentacles looking into the eyes of not Dende but Buu, only it wasn't Buu's face- it was Kakarot's.

The creature was asking him if he remembered when they first met. Vegeta felt hot breath on his cheek. Bile rose in his stomach.

"_You were so small then, weren't you?"_

Vegeta's fists clenched and he began to struggle with all his might. He knew what was going to happen and he couldn't let it. Not again.

He began screaming but nothing was coming out. His eyes teared and he looked up into the ceiling of thorns and saw faint specks of light and the single large hole through which he'd dropped. The sun was so bright outside but the thickness and dankness of the grove managed to shut it all out and leave him to his dark and lonely suffering. Blue skies and a cool breeze could not be farther away now. Once again, Vegeta felt all hope slip away from him.

Then Buu had finished talking and all Vegeta heard was the mutant's laughter. Vegeta closed his eyes attempting to shut it out but the monster was right in his face. After a few moments, Vegeta realized that it wasn't Buu's laughter he was hearing at all, but Kakarot's- _really_ Kakarot's.

Vegeta opened his eyes and saw the face of the only other pure blooded Saiyan left. The eyes were black with red irises but that big smile could belong to no one else- there was so much joy and unconditional love in it. And Vegeta remembered. He realized again what he'd realized that day in the grove, what he had blocked out along with the rest of it- Kakarot was still there.

Vegeta opened his eyes again and saw Dende sitting across from him once more and they were in the cool and peaceful guest bedroom again. The dark grove and it's gnarled trees with their twisted branches were all gone.

"Kakarot is..." Vegeta choked out. The vision left him feeling light headed.

"Yes, Vegeta." said Dende surely, "he's still there. He came out because of you. I believe you can bring him out again."

"But how do I..."

Dende looked at him patiently, "I don't know. But I believe it can be done."

Vegeta looked almost hopeful for a fleeting moment and then his head sank.

"No," he said lowly, "I tried. I tried...calling him. Buu's hold is too strong."

"You mustn't give up, Vegeta. Wherever Goku is, he's clearly still fighting. Why do you think Buu hasn't come up here? He has all the knowledge of Goku, Gohan, and the boys- he knows exactly where we are. It's Goku that's keeping him away! While Buu certainly has a hold over Goku, I think Goku has a small but definitive hold over him!"

Vegeta's eyes brightened despite himself as he listened to Dende's inspired voice.

"He's there!" Said Dende excitedly, impressing this upon Vegeta with all his will, "Goku wants to get out, he just needs help. I think you're the one to help him."

Dende stared at Vegeta and waited. But as he looked, the inspiration that had reflected in the Saiyan's black eyes began to dim.

"Why me?" came his small strained voice. But even as he said it, he already knew the answer.

In his mind swam another vision, but this time it came from a different memory.

Beside him, Goku was panting and his gi was in shreds. Vegeta was in no better if not worse shape. Now that Buu had absorbed both their sons, including a new and more powerful Gohan, the monster had proven to be quite a handful for them. Goku lifted his weary head to Vegeta and the prince didn't have to look to know there was a pleading look on his face.

"Don't say it, Kakarot." Vegeta growled.

"Vegeta," Goku panted, "just listen to me, we can't beat him like this. Please, we need to-"

"I know, I know! Fuse. Well it's not happening! Drop it, Kakarot!"

Vegeta dashed off again in the direction of Buu and Goku followed after. Vegeta got there first and so was first to be swatted away like a incessant fly. Goku came next and received the same prompt treatment. He hit the ground making a sizable crater near Vegeta's.

Goku looked up at once and saw Buu hurtling the beginnings of a large energy blast down to them. Goku reacted quickly and grabbed Vegeta's prone body and threw them both to safety. Shielding Vegeta with his own body, Goku covered both their heads as the blast collided behind them.

Vegeta came to, feeling the warm weight on top of him and the breath on the back of his neck. He knew it was Goku. Chunks of rock and earth fell all around them. He was not alarmed by the closeness of his fellow Saiyan as they had been this close on many occasions during their spars.

Vegeta nudged the weight on top of him lightly with an elbow and it was lifted.

"Are you alright?" Goku asked, eying Vegeta closely, hands reaching out, searching, as if ready to touch him in areas in more serious pain.

"Fine, Kakarot. Take care of yourself."

Goku sighed and dropped his hands. He seemed to be biting back something. In place of it, he said sorely, "If you won't fuse with me, we need to fight him at the same time. Don't charge him on your own like that!"

"Well the same goes for you, Kakarot," said Vegeta, patting himself off, "I'll not have you snatching all the glory for yourself this time."

Goku gave him a weathered look. All these long years had done little to softened the bitter prince.

There was a frenzy of explosions in the air- like fireworks, none lasting longer than a split second. A flash here and there and great rock formations crumbled all around. The sound of deep thunder filled the skies, but there were no clouds. A loud crack resounded, then a flash, and once again two Saiyans fell 100 feet to the rocks below.

Goku crawled on his elbows toward his fallen comrade.

"Vegeta," he grunted, dragging his own heavy body over the rocks to be nearer to his fellow Saiyan. When he got close enough, he saw that Vegeta was conscious. His eyes were half lidded and he wore a grimace. His fingers twitched idly.

The prince coughed up some dust and probably some blood. He didn't want to look so utterly beaten in front of the other Saiyan but he couldn't hide that he was in a great deal of pain.

"If you're going to ask me to fuse again," he said slowly and through painful breaths, "you can save it, Kakarot. I'd rather die again than spend life trapped in a body with a low-level clown like-"

"No, Vegeta." Goku interjected gently, "I'm not going to ask you to fuse again. Besides," He watched Vegeta try to pick himself up but fail miserably, collapsing back into the rubble, "I think I'd miss this too much." he almost laughed.

Vegeta wouldn't admit it but he too feared he would miss their time together. What would it mean to be forevermore fused to Kakarot? Would they never again be able to talk to each other this way as separate beings? Or would Vegeta never be rid of the infuriating third class? He wasn't sure which outcome he feared most.

Vegeta let out a cry of frustration or annoyance. He didn't look over to the man he'd spent most of his adult life loathing and admiring but he knew Goku was watching him with that kind- almost sad- smile.

"I just wanted to tell you, it's good to see you again."

And Vegeta did look at him then. He wanted to sneer and scoff and belittle the emotional Saiyan, but he couldn't. There was no trick behind the other's eyes, no motive in his voice. Kakarot was then and always had been sincere. It just wasn't often that Vegeta allowed himself to see it.

The prince sighed.

"It's good to see you too. Kakarot," he said.

And Goku smiled more broadly.

The moment they shared would not last long. Buu soon charged them again. This time, however, the last two Saiyans put up a joined fight the mutant didn't think them capable of after the beating he'd laid into them. The Saiyans surprised him with their tenacity and their endless well of power which, no matter how much they took from it, never seemed to deplete.

In any other circumstances, two against one would have been unfair odds which neither would abide, but Buu had a whole hoard of powerful fighters in his arsenal and all their abilities at his disposal. So today, all fairness went out the window.

Things were looking alright, Vegeta thought, allowing himself a moment of pride. But like so many times before, his pride would precede his suffering.

Vegeta began to laugh as he looked onto a scuffed and infuriated Buu.

"Look at him," he said to Goku who was not laughing, "he thought he could take on the two most powerful beings in the universe! What a fool! Three half breeds does not equal the power of full-blooded Saiyan!" he laughed again and Goku frowned at him. His boast was ill-received, considering they were just as beat up if not more so than Buu.

Buu seethed but nonetheless appeared to be listening to Vegeta's chiding. The prince wouldn't know until it was too late what was stirring behind the mutants calculating eyes.

An appendage was missing from Buu. The end of his long antenna. It had been blown off of him in the last scuffle and Buu looked so shredded anyway that no one noticed.

The piece was currently making its way up to the unsuspecting Saiyans who were distracted by the prince's monologue.

One was clearly more powerful than the other but Buu decided, as he looked into that arrogant face of the prince, that Goku could wait. Vegeta would go down first.

Goku waited for Vegeta's laughter to settle then he tuned to Buu, "Our friends aren't dead, I can sense them in you. Give them back to us. This doesn't have to go on."

What happened next was mostly a blur to Vegeta. What looked like a small smirk flashed in Buu's face and that was the last the prince would see of Buu in that form.

A strong arm forced Vegeta aside and when the prince looked he saw a last glimpse of the horror-stricken face of Goku before an ominous shadow fell over it and a great pink amorphous blob encompassed him whole.

It was the same trick that the boys had fallen for before them. Vegeta was so arrogant that he dropped his guard and now it was too late. What followed was the single most horrible experience of the prince's life and now a part of him almost felt that he deserved it, though he wouldn't admit.

"He sacrificed himself for me." Vegeta said aloud to no one in particular, "why would he do that?"

Dende thought a moment.

"I believe if you think about it, you'll realize that Goku would do many things for you."

Vegeta looked at him as if just noticing he was there.

"The relationship you had with Goku was a fragile one. Do you want to talk about it?"

Vegeta shook his head and Dende knew not to press the subject.

"Think it over," Dende said, standing up, "The Dragonballs are not fool-proof. I think that in the end your connection with Goku will prove to be the key to stopping Buu. I'll let you rest."

Dende left Vegeta to the calm of his bedroom. The moon was still high in the starry night sky and Vegeta looked at it through his large and open window.

Kakarot, he thought.

If this new plan meant that Vegeta would have to face Buu again, he wasn't sure that the small prospect of success was worth the great risk. The very idea sent icy needles through his spine.

As much as he detested the thought of relying so heavily on the Dragonballs, he felt a physical repulsion to the idea of having to face Buu, let alone seeking him out and confronting him.

He grew weary as he debated with himself. Soon the thought was distant. He fell into an anxious sleep.


	9. And Dust Rained From the Sky 1of3

Another week went by.

Vegeta and Dende did not meet again to discuss the alternative plan. Vegeta was certain no one else knew about it; Dende wouldn't have told anyone and Vegeta sure as hell hadn't said anything. For the most part, the Saiyan took to avoiding the guardian from fear that the manipulative mystic would try and coax more horrific memories out of him without his consent. He didn't seek out Dende's calming presence anymore either, he scarcely even made eye contact with the Namekian when they did happen to find themselves in the same space.

Vegeta receded back into his routine of keeping to himself and even ran the occasional odd errand for Bulma when he couldn't ignore her any longer.

However, despite how successfully Vegeta avoided the Namekian, memories seemed to resurface all around him nonetheless: Sometimes it was the grove. He saw gnarled trees and snake-like forms slithering through the reeves before deep red eyes blotted everything else out; Sometimes it was the final fight he saw and his own pride that defeated him on that terrible day; But mostly, it was Kakarot in his visions. It wasn't the last moments before he was absorbed that he remembered most but the many moments before that which had seemed so trite at the time.

It was all so familiar, Vegeta thought. After some odd hours of going at each other with all their stamina, one Saiyan would end up pinned by the other or they would be entangled somehow, totally limp with exhausted. They would look at each other then. Neither would say anything.

Their mouths would hang open, they were panting so hard and the warmth of the other Saiyans' breath would cover and embrace the others' face. Side by side in a large crater or chest to chest against a rock wall they would look at each other, seeing more than words could tell in the other's eyes.

And that was it.

They would get up and go home or go inside to eat. However the spars ended, neither spoke of what was found in the others' eyes.

Vegeta sighed and his head fell against the wall.

Bulma's brisk and purposeful footsteps were quickly nearing his training room from down the hall.

He steeled himself for the chore to come.

"Alright, I figured out what was wrong, Vegeta. It was a small stitch but it made quite a difference. The marker should be right on the money now. We can hunt down the rest of those Dragonballs. You ready to help save the world?"

Vegeta was so surprised, he didn't have an available response.

He had been occasionally sent out to find more Dragonballs but after the first time, he hadn't had much luck. The Dragon Radar had been acting funny since they'd retrieved it. It must have been jarred at some point because it was getting progressively worse in its readings. They found no Dragonballs on or near the markers. Bulma blamed Vegeta's lack of care with the tool and said he'd always resented their need for it and must have purposefully dropped it at some point, knocking something vital out of place.

Vegeta in truth didn't mind all that much that the radar was incapacitated. He spent his time training away in the depths of the temple. His body grew stronger as well as his thirst for redemption. His mind never once turned from the thought of revenge. His sights were constantly set on the day that he would face Buu again and beat him.

And just when all ideas of the Dragonballs had all but left his conscious completely, here was Bulma right in front of him with a fully functional Dragon Radar reminding him of how he stood alone, overshadowed by the towering hopes of his allies.

He eyed it for a moment.

"Run your own errands. I'm training." he turned and whipped his towel over his shoulder.

"We need your speed, Vegeta." Bulma replied easily, as though she was prepared to have to fight the Saiyan.

Vegeta said nothing but returned to the command console in the center of the room.

"We're going to wish Goku out." Bulma said.

Vegeta froze.

Kakarot.

The smiling face flashed in his mind and more memories stirred leaving a hollow feeling in his gut. He clenched his fists and pushed the memories away.

Quietly he weighed the possibilities.

The tyranny would end, Vegeta ventured. There would be no more almighty Buu. He would be beatable. But if Kakarot returned, so would the Earth's savior. All Vegeta's efforts will have been for nothing. Any chance for Vegeta "the hero" would be crushed.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't erase all that had happened. Everything in the grove...

There was no way. It happened. And if he wished Kakarot back, he would have to look in the man's eyes everyday and see it- everything the monster had done to him.

Vegeta felt a stinging in his eyes.

He could never face the man the same again. No. Not until he had his retribution. He needed to be the one to kill Buu. Kakarot would not be the hero this time.

"I'm not finding anymore Dragonballs," Vegeta said without turning to Bulma, "I'm going to kill Buu."

Bulma stared into Vegeta's tense back and could almost feel the waves of electricity coming off of him

"Vegeta-" she stammered.

"Get out."

Bow seemed to live on a diet of convicts and the clinically insane. Maximum security prisons had proven to be a real treat for the fledgling when they found them. Buu noted the particular tastes of Bow with some concern but nonetheless, allowing him to quench his twisted appetite seemed to keep his fledgling happy.

Something in Buu's belly tightened and his throat went dry. Moments later he could make out a faint form inching along a ways ahead of them.

He was crossing their path. He was in his usual plain navy blue workout suit and white boots. Buu focused further and he could see the determination on his face. He was out again on one of his inexplicable errands. Buu and Bow would see him about from time to time. Buu would usually have to combat his comrade's desire to intercept him and his own less violent urge to follow him. The Saiyan sometimes carried bags of supplies or odd mechanical devices which Buu assumed had something to do with the one called Bulma. For Buu's part, he didn't worry too much about it. Neither party did much to acknowledge the other. Normally there would be a brief glance passed but nothing more.

Buu continued to stare as Vegeta's distant form passed. He was sure they were too far for him to see but soon he would sense them.

And right on time, as if summoned by Buu, Vegeta turned and they were looking right at each other. With Buu's keen vision he could see Vegeta perfectly but the Saiyan should not see him- although the exactness of the man's eyes would claim otherwise. The look in the Saiyan's eyes was feral and masked a wild rage. But there was also fear there. The Saiyan turned away and kept flying to where ever he was going and Buu went back to looking ahead.

"Why do we leave him?" Bow finally asked breaking the suddenly thoughtful silence. They had crossed paths with the Saiyan on several occasions in the passed weeks and each time, neither made any move to interfered with the other.

"He is not a threat to us." Buu said simply, staring ahead.

"Then we can just kill him."

Buu did not stop but slowed slightly, a fire suddenly blazing in his gut.

Bow did not fail to catch the sharp change in his maker's demeanor. Something stirred in Buu's eyes in that instant and Bow decided to chose his next words carefully.

"It's just," he began diplomatically, "If you have a soft spot for the Saiyan, it might be in your best interest to have him out of the picture. I can help with that. It's what you made me for, isn't it?"

"You're correct. I needed a second mind." Said Buu after giving it some thought, "I made you to help me remain steady if I begin to waver. But it isn't weakness that keeps me from killing the Saiyan, my dark creation. I mean to keep him alive."

"Why is that?" Bow asked, carefully masking his doubt.

"He may prove to be a challenge later," Buu simply replied, "haven't you been saying you were bored?"

This answer seemed to pacify Bow for the time being and they continued flying for a while without mishap.

"So, Vegeta is the one who will be a challenge for us..." said Bow, mulling it over aloud, "but then, why leave the others? Surely they cannot begin to pose a challenge?"

Buu turned to his comrade to answer but nothing came out. There was really no reason to let the other's on Dende's Lookout live. He knew it and he felt that he'd somehow been caught.

It was irrational. There was no point to them. He knew that destroying the lookout would give his fledgling greater satisfaction than any he'd felt in some time- and even a large part of himself longed to see it burn along with all its inhabitants. But there was still something in him that held him at bay; some blind spot in his mind that made him want to avoid the place entirely. He knew what it was and perhaps he had been ignoring that too. But he couldn't keep ignoring it.

They had stopped flying at some point and Buu looked up into the face of his creation. There was such wild and animalistic anticipation there. He was a dog salivating at the imminence of steak.

Buu realized that he had been allowing himself to be steered by the stowaway in his mind. The Saiyan had been quietly influencing him for some time now. He hadn't destroyed all vestiges of Goku as he had thought when he'd hunted down and killed his closest associates. Well he would soon. He would not adhere to Goku any longer. He knew the Lookout had to be destroyed.


	10. And Dust Rained From the Sky 2of3

**And Dust Rained From the Sky (Part 2 of 3)**

Vegeta flew and flew until the Lookout was just a memory behind him. He couldn't have his pride and honor belittled any longer. He had to leave.

Once again he was his only ally; he stood alone against the doubts and ridicule of everyone he knew. He wasn't at all new to this role. The Lookout was filled with fools who believed in wishing their problems away. He believed in a wish once. He believed in immortality. It was a fool's wish- the easy way out for one too weak to work for their own victory. He knew now that all he needed to believe in- all he needed to trust- was his own strength. He survived off of his own strength. It was what had gotten him this far. It was what had gotten him up and out of the grove that day...

And it was his own strength alone that would kill Buu once and for all. They just didn't realize it yet.

Vegeta didn't know where he would fly but he had so much hate and anger burning in his veins that he knew he had to get away from the Lookout and all it's by-standing nitwits, doing nothing but taking up space, contributing nothing but one more useless body for him to have to refrain from blowing to shreds. He knew that if he stayed in that temple any longer and tried to talk it out with Bulma or work it off in the gravitation chamber, the whole structure would burst from the rivulets of his fury.

She just didn't get it.

Wish Kakarot out? No fucking way.

He passed over a jagged mountain range and decided to do some landscaping.

Bulma sighed to herself as she leaned against the craft. The radar in her hand was humming away. There was no sense in waiting any longer. She had never been a patient woman but at least she'd tried to be a sensible one. She had hoped Vegeta would be more enthusiastic about having such a vital role in the plan or at least cooperative. Afterall, they were trying to save the world. Didn't he see that? No, he was too caught up in his own pride and an old and tired idea that he somehow still needed to prove himself. To who, she wasn't sure. As hard as she tried, she really couldn't understand him sometimes. She often chalked it up to him being selfish. Couldn't he see that they were all working for the same thing?

She climbed in the craft and slammed the door behind her.

As Bulma started the engine, she couldn't help reflecting on another Saiyan who was anything but selfish. Goku would have helped out, she asserted. Goku would have been here supporting them every step of the way.

But another second hadn't passed before she thought to herself, "No. Goku would be away training too." she instantly knew it to be true and she sighed, shaking her head. _Saiyans._

The craft lifted from the temple courtyard, making the few surrounding palm trees and bushes tremble and whip wildly.

Vegeta stood, panting slightly, in a cloud of dust. He'd spent a good amount of his energy blasting a sizable crater into the canyon and was feeling decidedly more at ease as a result. It was good that he'd gotten outside. Here, he didn't have to worry about accidentally blowing a new sunroof into the temple or about killing one of the many wandering humans they'd collected over the weeks. The place was like a zoo now.

Vegeta tilted his head back and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in. The air was still thick with dust and stung his nostrils. At some point over the years, he'd begun to associate the dusty scent with battle and it still made him tingle.

He did feel a lot better. Maybe being couped up in the dark heart of the temple had made him a bit crazy. Maybe all he'd needed was some fresh air. He thought back on his last encounter with Bulma and perhaps he'd been a bit harsh. The idea of apologizing to the woman was completely foreign and would never even occur to the prince. However, he did feel a slight dip in his stomach at the thought of how they'd left it.

Nonetheless, next time they saw each other, it would be back to normal. Nothing needed to be said. It was simply the way things were between them. And Vegeta took comfort in that and let it be.

He heard a faint buzzing overhead.

He looked and saw in the distance the purple hover craft he'd long associated with Bulma Briefs. He watched it hum along sluggishly. Imagining the woman inside, again Vegeta felt the dip in his stomach. He let it subside.

She was going to fetch the Dragonballs herself.

Good, Vegeta thought. Save him the time and annoyance. It was about time she did her own grunt work.

The craft got smaller as it glided further away.

Vegeta turned back to the canyons around him. It was no more distinguishable than any other canyon he'd seen on the planet. No matter how many of these things they'd managed to destroy in their many battles over the years, more and more always seemed to pop up. Vegeta had never really thought about it until then, but it was kind of strange.

Vegeta began pacing in place, throwing swift jabs and kicks into the air, occasionally experimenting with fluid combos. His blood was pumping and his body was fully warmed up. He wanted to be in the zone- fully immersed in the movement and flow of his body- that was when he was most free, away from the torment and rage of his thoughts. But his mind wandered.

The craft.

He didn't see it anymore but he knew it couldn't have traveled far. There was a wisdom in sending Vegeta off on those trite errands though he would never admit it to Bulma aloud. It was true, he could handle running into Buu and getting another fierce beating and be confined to rest for a day. He was Saiyan- it was what they were made for. But Bulma was human like the others- weak, frail, completely breakable. The idea of being sent on a scavenger hunt was offensive to the prince but the admitted risk involved did make him well suited for the job. But was there really a risk? Vegeta had not run into trouble with the Buu's unless he went out and sought it, even when they directly crossed each other's paths, there was little more exchanged than words or- more recently- just glances. If Buu wanted violence with them, he could have easily initiated it weeks ago, Vegeta decided. Bulma was fine. There was no danger.

But then why did Vegeta have this deep pulling feeling?

He turned again in the direction Bulma's craft had vanished and felt a great and dark power. He knew the power well, he felt it all times. Though the great power was split into two bodies, Vegeta felt it as one. As he continued to star into the distance, eyes unblinking as if in a trance, two figures became clearer. They were flying at such a rate that nearly the same instant they appeared, they were gone again, headed in the direction the craft had come; in the direction of the Look Out.

Vegeta almost staggered when the delayed sound of their speed hit him.

Could they have been going...

Vegeta watched and waited as though hoping they might reappear, ease his worries.

They wouldn't be going...

He turned back in the direction of the craft. The sky was clear and secretive. Did they cross paths? He didn't know. It certainly looked that way. Vegeta's mind raced as his body was simultaneously pulled in the oposing directions of Bulma's craft and Dende's Lookout.

Cursing himself, he wasted no more time, and set off in the direction in which he'd seen the craft fly, and from where the Buu's had come.

Vegeta didn't have to go very far before he spotted the little purple glider grounded in a valley of rocks. He immediately scanned the area for Bulma. He didn't see her.

He descended next to the glider and immediately felt the hollowness of the area. He didn't have to call for Bulma to know that she wasn't there. And she wasn't off looking for Dragonballs either. There in the rubble, not far from the craft, Vegeta saw the gleaming metal casing and leather strap of the Dragon Radar. He picked up the discarded gadget and the hollowness he'd felt in the pit of his stomach deepened and swallowed him hole. The situation was settling in.

They had sat dormant for way too long. Something terrible was bound to happen and they just waited for it. Now it had come. He didn't know what it was but he knew it was happening and that there was no more time to speculate plans.

The Sun beat down on the vast courtyard of The Lookout. Children were chasing each other, making games of running around the trees; A group of sunbathers lounged by the edge, looking out onto a misty view of the Earth, miles below; Mr. and Mrs. Briefs were chatting in the kitchen with Chichi while Dende prepared them a snack; Mr. Popo was busy watering his garden on the patio and reinforcing some daffodils that the children had kicked up, when suddenly everything went still. Mr. Popo couldn't hear the pattering footsteps of the children playing behind him. They had suddenly gone silent. The people lounging on the edge of the lookout had quieted their youthful chatting. He set down the pot. As his heart began to pound in his chest, Mr. Popo slowly turned to see what had caused the sudden stillness.

Mr. And Mrs. Briefs stopped laughing when they heard a shrill scream coming from outside. It sounded like a child. Chichi ran from the kitchen at once. At first, when she stepped out into the blinding light, she didn't notice anything strange. Then she realized everything was gravely still. Where had the scream come from. She ran around to the east side of the building where she saw Mr. Popo was frozen to his spot. The children where all staring up into the sky. Chichi looked up as well and saw there, blocking out the sun with their unmistakable forms, were Buu and his apprentice. That wasn't all. Chichi's eyes immediately went to the body struggling under the apprentice's arm. He suddenly released the body and it landed hard on the ground.

Bulma seethed but you didn't have to look closely to see that she was shaking.

"I don't know how you're still alive, but don't worry. That will soon be corrected." Buu said, eyeing Bulma like an insect.

The children saw Chichi as she approached and they all ran to her, drawing Buu's attention.

Chichi held the children close and was about to instruct them to run inside, but was distracted by a sound that came from Buu himself. She looked up.

The tyrant's form had drifted out from in front of the sun and Chichi had a clearer view of him. But he was not the Buu she had been expecting. The excretion of his fledgeling had indeed taken a toll on Buu's appearance. The transformation had left Buu with more of Goku's genetics than anything else and the Saiyan's physical traits were more pronounced than ever.

Chichi looked in the face of Buu but saw the man she'd married and loved for over a decade. Her eyes began to tear.

Buu looked at Chichi and saw the woman he swore he killed. He didn't like having to repeat himself.

"You're supposed to be dead." he said gravely.

Dende rushed out with Mr. and Mrs. Briefs in tow to see what was causing the commotion and Buu saw them as well.

"You too!" He burst, indicating to the Briefs, almost laughing.

His thoughts trailed to Vegeta.

"Oh prince," he said to himself, "such a hero."

He turned to his fledgeling who seemed to give him an approving look, and back to the people of the Lookout.

"No matter." Buu sighed, and his voice went low, "you'll all die now."

Vegeta flew as fast as he could but he still felt like he was dragging a building. His mind raced and he didn't have a single complete thought but they were all similarly themed: He needed to get back to the Lookout. He needed to stop whatever was happening.

He felt the dark power growing greater in his chest and he didn't know what it meant.

He was closing in on the Lookout now. He could just see the long narrow post that attached to the bottom of the temple. He got closer and began to ascend. The post vanished into a thick layer of clouds and Vegeta couldn't see the top. He rose and rose, but he still hadn't cleared the mist, in fact it seemed to only get thicker. Vegeta brought his arm up over his eyes as he hit a particularly thick patch. His nose began to sting. Vegeta suddenly realized that it wasn't a great grey cloud he was in.

He stopped ascending

He looked around. The air was still thick with dust but it slowly began to clear. He felt bits of rock hitting his arms and face like drops of rain. Beside him, the long post became visible and his eyes followed it up to it's jagged tip.

The truth of the situation took a moment to strike Vegeta but when it did, it was like a knife in his gut.

Vegeta screamed until he had no more air in his lungs. There was nothing there. Rubble was still falling from the space that once held the gravity defying temple, but nothing more took it's place. No living thing remained.

Tears streamed from his eyes and dust clung to them making dirty streaks down his face.

After minutes, his scream died out and he was left panting with a raw feeling in his throat. They were gone. Dende, Bulma, Krillin, everyone. All gone. The hollowness that had settled in Vegeta's gut was surmounted only by the dark, imposing power he still felt. Buu was still there.

The dust had settled slightly, and soon Vegeta was able to just make out across the clearing the outlines of two forms. They were motionless. More dust cleared, and Vegeta was able to make out their faces.

They were watching him.


	11. And Dust Rained From the Sky 3of3

And Dust Rained From the Sky (Part 3 of 3)

Dust was still falling as Vegeta looked across the void of the former Lookout to where Buu and Bow hovered silently.

There was a sharpness in Buu's eyes that cut through the dust and the distance and found Vegeta, giving the prince a prickling feeling up his spine. They held each other's gaze in a heavy silence. Then Buu turned his head toward his comrade. His eyes stayed on Vegeta's and did not even flutter. It was subtle but Vegeta saw Buu give a slight nod. Bow must have taken some meaning from the nod; a grin spread across his boyish face.

Vegeta's heart which had finally begun to calm, began to build speed again.

Bow was moving toward Vegeta.

Buu watched, a malevolent satisfaction in his eyes at what he had set in motion.

Buu was pissed. Something had set him off.

Vegeta barely had time to prepare himself. He felt as though he'd been watching the scene unfold up to that point. And now Bow was rushing him and he hadn't thought to dodge or move or brace himself until he was sailing downward having taken a hard knee to the stomach.

The sadness and pain and aloneness Vegeta felt was overwhelming for him. He couldn't suppress it. It wouldn't budge. It settled itself in him and Vegeta felt the weight of it like a giant rock on his chest, holding him down in the dirt and the rocks his body landed in. They were dead and he as good as killed them. The fact wasn't going anywhere. He knew somehow that this one wouldn't be buried away like the rest. It was going to stay right where it was, open and raw like an infected wound. This loss would never heal. And he couldn't cover it as he'd done so many times before, letting the truth live hidden away within him, allowing it to to run through his veins and become him. It was different this time, he knew. There was just no more room in the deep dark grave yard of his mind to bury yet another horrible monster. It would always be there on the surface, staring at him. He would always feel the sorrow of it as though it had just happened.

And as he lay there, he felt the sorrow so big it was like an entity separate from himself.

He felt it fill him and spill over.

Tears pooled in his eyes.

No, he thought, no. _They_ killed them.

He saw Buu and Bow overhead, descending down to him.

Vegeta lifted himself out of the rocks. The weight that had held him down did not wane but he found he could bare it. He would have to.

He looked up and could see Bow smiling down at him like a psychotic kid.

The sorrow that filled Vegeta began to fall away, making room for the great rage that was settling in. Vegeta's blood began to boil and his body became a furnace. A fire in his very core roared for vengeance.

All he could see was the mocking grin of Bow and the glint in the bastard's eyes. In Vegeta's mind were the horrified faces of the people of the Lookout being consumed in flame. Vegeta felt the fire consume him too.

In a flash, Vegeta was in the air and soaring up to meet Bow.

There was little planning and it showed. Bow effortlessly dodged Vegeta's barrage of attacks. Lightning quick punches and kicks met emptiness where Bow, grinning away, evaded the enraged prince. Vegeta grew more emphatic in his attacks as Bow matched his speed at every surge of energy. Vegeta just couldn't connect. He poured more power into his attacks. Bow must have gotten bored with the little dance and suddenly caught one of the prince's fists in his hand.

The movement was so effortless, it caught Vegeta off guard. He stared a moment and Bow stared back. Suddenly, Bow's cocked smile widened revealing his viper's fangs and Vegeta felt the mutant's grip tighten around his fist.

The next moment, Vegeta saw nothing but flashes behind his tightly shut eye lids. Pain shot through him from his arm captured in Bow's grasp. Bow was crushing the prince's fist in his hand.

Vegeta screamed. It was so fast, he didn't think to try and pull his hand away or perhaps he didn't try from fear of incurring more pain. Then it was over and a blunt force thrust him backward and he was freed but soaring away like thrown doll. Bow's kick had cast him a kilometer through the air. Vegeta was just able to catch himself, holding his chest with his good hand. His ribs ached from where Bow had kicked him.

It occurred to Vegeta that he wasn't at full capacity and that perhaps now was not the best time to confront Bow. This scrap of wisdom that crept into Vegeta's mind was quickly disposed of as Bow came cutting through the distance straight at him with a half-mad look of childish delight on his face.

Vegeta was just able to dodge the deadly fists that began to swing at hims as the distance closed between them. He blocked his head and mid section as best he could from the ones that connected. He saw through his arms that shielded him that horrible delight on Bow's face and new he was just toying with the prince.

Vegeta had been throwing a great deal of his energy into training that morning and that afternoon he had worked off a lot of stress blowing away a local canyon. Were he at full capacity, he would fair better, he knew. Anyway, as it was, he was not doing well. He would need to do something drastic and fast, he was quickly draining what was left of his energy. He felt however, he might still have enough left to finish Bow. He had to. After that, at least that would be _one_ down.

"What's wrong, Vegeta?" Bow chimed in his low growl, never ceasing his attacks, "I'd hoped you would be more of a challenge for me. Surely the Prince of Saiyan's has more fight in him?"

Right you are, Vegeta thought to himself.

He took the opportunity to surprise the mutant. Both hands shot out between them and Vegeta released the blast he had been quietly building beneath his guard

There was a flash and Bow was swallowed in smoke, Vegeta fired another and another and decided he wouldn't stop until he saw the creature's tattered form fall from the sky, or until he could see the tiny bits of him evaporating into the wind.

The sky was ablaze with Vegeta's unbridled fury. He could see nothing and he took it as a good sign. Never underestimate a Saiyan, he thought. When you think they're down, they've always got more fight in them.

Vegeta was panting and sweating. He let his energy rest. The smoke dissipated and there was nothing more of Bow to behold. Vegeta didn't even know he had that left in him. He surprised himself sometimes. It was as he had expected. The spawn of Bow was no great challenge. With the training he had undergone, he had indeed surpassed the fledgeling, even in his weakened state. He was relieved. He felt an amazing weight lifted off of him. Surely now, Buu could not be so difficult.

As Vegeta began looking around for the creator of Bow, he began to notice how the wind carried the dust in the air. Particles of the temple still clinging to the atmosphere, he thought with an ache in his gut. But the particles did not follow the wind or even settle but began to gather around him. They didn't touch him but formed a barrier until everywhere he looked were particles of matter. Soon, they began fusing together in what appeared to be a large pink sphere forming around him.

Vegeta threw blast after blast at the amorphous barrier that engulfed him, but each blast seemed weaker and less effective than the last. He had used up so much energy in his last attack, thinking it would finish Bow, he hadn't left much to work with. He panted and screamed and kicked and punched but his reaction was too late and Bow had caught him. He didn't have time to plan or shout or even fear that he was about to be absorbed. Vaguely, as the waxy skin pooled together, blotting out the last of the light, Vegeta wondered if this was the last thing his fellows saw before they became a part of Buu. But then the walls of his mutant cage began to illuminate all around him. They illuminated so brightly that Vegeta feared he would be blinded. Then came the blast.

Fully engulfed in the impermeable sphere of Bow's flesh, Vegeta could do nothing but take the onslaught of Bow's full and concentrated energy. The light and energy were well contained in Bow's spherical shell but it did little to muffle the horrific, cracking screams of the Saiyan trapped within.

It seemed to go on forever. Some time ago, Buu had landed on the ground below the scene. His arms were folded over his chest as he looked with detached interest onto the spectacle above.

After some time, the screaming did stop, and the shining pink sphere blossomed open, revealing the limp body of the Saiyan. Vegeta fell from the receding bubble and crashed into the rocky ground below.

When thought eventually returned to Vegeta, he wondered if he was dead. Though dead Vegeta wasn't, he felt nothing. His fingers twitched idly of there own accord. He knew no pain like what he had suffered in Bow's cruel embrace. He thought maybe his nerves had been shocked to numbness. Unfortunately, as Vegeta's consciousness eventually returned, so did the feeling in his body. When it did, his whole form wretched and he couldn't hold in a sharp cry. All the pain and distress from the horrendous torment his body had endured returned to him, and of all the things that struck him the most, a warm wetness from his eyes shocked Vegeta to stillness. The warmth pooled for a moment, caught in his lashes, then streamed down to his ear, tickling him slightly

Vegeta let out a choked sound that seemed to have been caught in his throat.

Some distance above, Bow, in all his glory, was shouting something down at him. Taunting him, beckoning him back up to play.

All at once, Vegeta realized that he couldn't beat them. Dende was right. There wasn't enough time. He couldn't win- not with another month of training, not with another year.

Vegeta lay there looking up at the sky. He saw that dust was still falling from where the temple once stood and the emptiness that now filled it. He could see all the people again. How frightened they must have been. How they probably thought they were protected. Some of them were probably waiting for him to come out and defend them. He wasn't there.

He could see Dende. The young Namekian who had, somewhere along the way, grown into a wise guardian. Oh, how Vegeta wasted the recent weeks avoiding the man when he could have been talking to him, learning from him.

In his mind he could still hear the Namekian's calm but assertive voice.

_Vegeta, you know what you have to do. _

Vegeta inhaled deeply and his eyes drifted shut. He gave himself a moment before lifting his aching body out of the rocks and to his feet. He didn't have to look for long before his eyes locked onto Buu who was also grounded about 50 yards away, content to watch the scene unfold from the sidelines.

Vegeta began walking toward him, his own will the driving force behind his aching bones.

A blast from above sailed down and landed a few feet ahead of the Saiyan, as though Bow had been expecting Vegeta to be moving faster.

Vegeta's navy blue sleeveless top and tight pants where so shredded they were falling off of him. Buu studied the beaten form with some alarm. With every shaky, pained step toward Buu, Vegeta winced and sucked in air through his teeth.

Buu was transfixed on the sight, unsure of the prince's plan. Vegeta was not powering up for an attack though he might have had enough strength to. He looked to Buu like he was completely oblivious to the grave danger he was directly walking into; he might have been walking toward his death but he didn't hesitant or even appear aware of it. There was something mesmerizing about it and Buu made no attempt to either back away or strike him down.

Vegeta clutched his arm which seemed to be paining him as he continued to trudge on across the plain toward Buu, ignoring the other now as if he weren't there.

Bow must have taken offense. Another shot, presumably intended to miss Vegeta, landed a few yards to the right of the Saiyan, close enough to not directly hit him but get him with some of the blast and knock his weakened form over.

Once again, Vegeta took the will that he had and lifted his body up. He crawled out of the crater caused by the blast and continued to walk toward Buu as though Bow had made no interference at all.

Buu could not turn away from the sight.

Vegeta was within ten yards of Buu now and kept going as though pulled by some invisible force. He stumbled and nearly fell but recovered and kept going.

His entire top was gone now. His knees and muscled thighs showed through large tears in his pants. Oddly, his Saiyan white boots and gloves were immaculate still.

At last, Vegeta reached the tall mutant and did almost fall then. Buu made no move to catch the unsteady Saiyan but watched him closely, eyes narrowed as he studied the slighter man.

Suddenly there was a sharp sound that seemed to cut the air and Vegeta fell to his knees. A swift and well aimed shot, directed at Vegeta's knee took the Saiyan by surprise. He clutched his pierced knee for a moment, grimacing. Bow did not like being ignored Vegeta pushed that pain, with all the rest, to the back of his mind and, with everything he had left, he got back up to his feet.

Vegeta's body swayed as he tried to stand up straight before the other. His legs quavered and longed to collapse in on themselves, but the prince's strong mind kept them in check.

He looked so much like him, Vegeta was struck by the sight. He stared for a long moment, almost completely forgetting his plan. He hadn't been within such close proximity of Buu for a long time- he hadn't allowed it- but he was able to see now, in this still moment, how much the mutant's appearance had truly taken to the traits of Kakarot. But it was more than that... Vegeta shook his head, and grouped together his thoughts.

Above, Bow must have been about to toss another, less forgiving shot down at the insubordinate Saiyan- Buu raised a steady hand to halt the action as though he were curious to see where this was going.

Finally, Vegeta mumbled something in his weakened voice. Buu did not catch it and the tall mutant dipped his neck slightly to better hear.

"Kakarot." Vegeta said again.

Buu stammered and almost stepped back.

"Kakarot!" Vegeta spat and the name looked more painful coming out than the beating.

Bow descended some yards behind Vegeta.

"What's he saying?" he called over, amused by the odd sight. He appeared to have beaten the Saiyan into a delirious state.

Buu took no notice of his comrade but listened to the prince, dumbfounded.

As though the act of speaking the name had taken the last of his strength, Vegeta fell forward. His head and bruised fists connected with Buu's chest and his full weight seemed to be help up by the mutant.

Bow watched but what was first amusement had become confusion. He stared transfixed, unable to understand but unable to look away.

Buu was completely taken by surprise. Of all the things he could have predicted from the Prince, this was far from imaginable. He was uncomfortable. This was a battle ground and the prince was …. leaning on him, almost nuzzling his chest. It was in no way aggressive but Buu still felt he ought to take some offensive action to counteract it. He looked up and saw that his fledgeling was watching them. He looked just as much, if not more at a loss at the recent turn of events. Buu didn't know how to act.

His arms somehow found Vegeta's shoulders and managed to push the man off of him. Holding him at arms length, and supporting him there it seemed, Buu was even more alarmed to see that the Saiyan had streams of tears down his cheeks. What struck him most was the look on his weary face. Buu didn't understand the look.

Vegeta should hate him and want to kill him right now. Buu had just destroyed all of his loved ones, everything he knew! Everything Buu knew about the volatile Saiyan implored that Vegeta should be holly enraged right with vengeful fury right now. And yet he was standing here, weakened, humbled it seemed. If Buu had to pinpoint it, he would say that Vegeta appeared to be surrendering himself to him.

Buu had no idea what to do.

Instinctively, the mutant's mind raked his acquired memories and experiences like a machine in search of some similar occasion, some reference to review and learn so that he could know how to proceed. But there was no such memory, no occasion that Buu had readily on file. None but one and Buu did not see how this was similar, except that in it Vegeta was also severely weakened, beaten, and crying. The memory he found was one he'd _acquired_ from the Saiyan, Goku. In this particular memory, Vegeta was shuttering and badly beaten and his armor at the time was holding up little better than it was now. He was on the ground and dying on Namek. He was pleading then as he did now with the name. It was that name again. Buu had no memory before that or since of Vegeta ever allowing himself to become so wholly vulnerable. He was pleading to Goku. He was pleading for Goku to avenge their race and kill the monster who had tormented him for so long. Now he was pleading to Buu, with the name. What was he trying to do?

Buu didn't understand. He didn't know what to do.

As Buu seemed frozen to the spot, Bow, however, was struck with a course of action. He came forward and seized the prince from Buu's grasp as though Vegeta were a toy, and Bow didn't care if it was his turn to play with him.

Vegeta had become disoriented from the agony his body had endured, which he could no longer ignore. And the submission of calling to Kakarot had been greatly taxing on him. He felt weak in both his body and mind. He wanted to be done. He'd done what he was supposed to do. Now he was tired and beaten and he wanted it all to end. But now rough hands were gripping him by the arms, turning him roughly around and promising him no relief. Vegeta felt am overwhelming dizziness.

Bow turned Vegeta to face him and looked into his eyes, looking for what he didn't know. Perhaps he was looking for what had caused his maker to go so silent and still all of a sudden. He stared a long time, examining the prince all over. Whatever he found there, it wasn't especially satisfying. He lifted Vegeta up to smell his face where the streaks of tears still shone and he took in the salty scent. He found he did find some satisfaction in it.

Vegeta cringed as he was squeezed, his ribs crying out in distress. His vision was going dark and he felt the situation and all his surroundings quickly slipping from his grasp. Bow's breath on his cheek was one of the last things he comprehended before blacking out. Vaguely, he heard Buu's voice behind him.

"Bow!" he said, in a voice that might have been shouted but it was only a whisper to Vegeta, who was drifting away.


	12. Alone in Buu's World

Alone in Buu's world

It was getting dark over the rocky plain. The sun was setting and activity had come to a halt over the now quiet battle sight.

Buu stood thinking.

He thought back to the day he had fought Vegeta and tormented him before leaving him unconscious in the woods. He had never done that to one of his victims. He'd never even considered it before that. It brought him a sort of satisfaction. He'd told himself that it was the thrill of getting under the haughty prince's skin and conquering him in a way no one else had. It was simple. The prince was cocky and had the nerve to challenge the almighty Buu. So yes, Buu dealt with him in the most effective way and yes, he'd enjoyed it. That kind of blind arrogance deserved more than a beating so Buu took it a little further that time. Sure, he left him alive, but that too was a part of the torment. Vegeta would have to live and remember that humiliation. And Buu knew that, for the prince, that was worse than death. And that, Buu concluded to himself, was why he did it and why he left him alive. It was one of Buu's more brilliant tactics, the mutant had to admit. He didn't need to explain himself to anyone.

In Buu's mind he saw the slight Saiyan's form splayed beneath him as he entered him. The shuttering breaths and the sheen of sweet covering the responsive body became a regular film that played in the mutant's mind at idle moments and pushed all others thoughts out. The vision of the proud prince so completely vulnerable and undone sparked a fire in Buu's belly. The thrill he got from the rare sight was greater than any thrill he'd derived from any burning school or decimated park, it was greater than any totaled city or a an entire planet turned to dust. He realized then what he'd always known and it was that he did enjoy Vegeta and it definitely wasn't so simple.

The Saiyan lay in a heep in the rocks and the dust where Buu had left him. His navy blue clothes were torn and his skin was smudged with dirt where it wasn't scraped or broken.

How long would he sleep?

A better question yet, What would happen when he awoke?

Would Buu kill him then? If so, why not kill him now?

He'd hit that tangle in his mind again. It was always a mess of tangles when his thoughts moved to the prince. Maybe he out to consult Bow...That was what the demi was here for afterall. He had no tangles to get caught in. Nothing to stop him from carrying out Buu's wishes..

But Buu's mind felt fine! He felt like he was in control! And he felt good! Why should he have to doubt himself in every decision.

He looked at the Prince again. The wind glided over his prone body, rustling his raven hair and cooling and flapping the shreds of his clothes. The scent of the Saiyan was carried over the plane and when it suddenly hit Buu, it was like a punch in the face. It was all the mutant could do but to close his eyes and take it in deeply. When he exhaled, he could not hold in the guttural moan that sang of his pleasure. When the wind changed directions, Buu opened his eyes again and licked his dry lips.

There was no denying it.

Buu realized that he enjoyed Vegeta. He enjoyed Vegeta. It wasn't some mysterious hidden section of his mind that sought to overthrow him- It was all of him. And what was so wrong with that? Couldn't he enjoy someone? Did he have to destroy everything? Was it so far fetched that at the end of a day wrought with explosions and blood and gore and death, that all he wanted was a little companionship? Someone to connect with at the end of the world?

His eyes trailed over to where Bow was currently devouring a seagull that had made the mistake of circling over them. He hadn't even bothered to transform it into a food. Buu grimaced slightly.

No, he thought, it wasn't far fetched that he would crave a certain emotional connection.

Maybe he didn't have to stress about how he could get around having to kill Vegeta. Maybe he didn't have to kill Vegeta at all. Bow was, after all, a side kick of sorts. They carried on all right. Perhaps they could indoctrinate a Saiyan into their little family.

Buu found he quite favored this idea. He was very relieved to not have to battle himself anymore about what he was going to do about the Saiyan. Perhaps he was meant to do this all along and that's why he'd had such strong contrasting feelings toward the Prince. Maybe he was never meant to kill him all along.

He realized he would have to explain this epiphany to Bow and that later he would even need to approach the Saiyan and present him with the news.

'Well hi there, Vegeta!' He pictured himself saying, 'turns out we don't have to kill you after all!'

Right.

But then again, he was Buu. He could have what he wanted- whatever he wanted. And besides, What Vegeta had done earlier made it seem like his desires weren't that far off...

When Vegeta approached him, weakened and beaten, he had a look about him. He looked up at him with those eyes that were void of they're natural defiance and instead held such longing. Then he fell onto Buu. Had he been that weak to do something so brash? Did he not expect Buu to react? It was reckless! It was almost... trusting.

Buu couldn't deny that it felt good. Buu had long harbored desires to be close to the Saiyan, to touch him, embrace him. The idea of the prince willingly walking into his arms was...well it was unexpected.

For a moment, Buu eyed the prince as if suspicious of a possible trap. His eyes trailed along the muscled, mostly bare and tattered body. Vegeta's breathing was calm and his body was limp but his brow remained furrowed and his lips twitched as if the battle continued in his mind.

Buu was late to notice the presence at his back.

"Well." the presence said.

Bow's deep voice was flat with boredom and expectation.

Buu winced to himself, suddenly beginning to feel annoyed.

"We've been here for some time." Bow began, and Buu already knew what he was getting at. Vegeta was exactly where he'd fallen and Buu hadn't allowed any sort of tampering with him.

"Yes? So?" Buu blurted out impatiently.

"Well I was thinking." Bow went on, maintaining his smooth tone, "shouldn't we do something about the Saiyan?"

Buu took in a breath and let it out loudly, visibly frustrated.

"Why don't you let me deal with the Saiyan, and you go … find something for us to eat?" He turned to his fledgeling then with a look that allowed little room for argument.

Bow remained silent as he studied his maker. Buu could tell that it was not with satisfaction, that his fledgeling turned and took to the skies. At least he would be gone, Buu thought, for the time being.

Buu's eyes did not leave Bow until he was securely out of sight. When he was sure Bow was gone, he relaxed a little, feeling instantly better.

He knew he needed to talk to Bow about his plans with the prince but for some reason he was dreading it, as if Bow would think his master weak or silly for having such an idea. He decided to table it for the time being.

His eyes trailed back to the grounded Saiyan. To his surprise, Vegeta was stirring. Buu quickly strode over to where his opponent lay and knelt at his side.

Without touching Vegeta, Buu leaned in closely.

He couldn't help looking fondly onto the prince who looked like he wasn't one to be crossed even when he was unconscious. Buu smiled to himself.

"Vegeta," he said softly and he reached a hand out to lightly touch the Saiyan's shoulder, "Vegeta," he said again.

The name felt like honey on his tongue. He leaned in further. His hand moved as if on its own and trailed a knuckle down the troubled face of the prince. He saw the small lips part and felt himself crane his neck down. Without thinking, he took Vegeta's lips into his own.

Then Vegeta awoke.

Suddenly, two lively hands found Buu's chest and thrust him roughly away.

Buu was so caught off guard he nearly tumbled over.

Vegeta scrambled to a knee and with a flash of concentration, he threw a close range blast a Buu.

"Wait, Vegeta!"

Buu barely had time to block it but it wouldn't have caused much damage anyway in the prince's state.

He tried to calm the prince, holding out both hands and keeping his distance. He called to him again but Vegeta sent another swift blast before thrusting himself to the sky.

Buu saw another flash of color shoot by from somewhere behind him and he knew Bow had come back.

Bow went after Vegeta like a dog after a postal truck; like a tiger after a gazelle.

Buu called after his fledgeling but Bow was already zoned in on his target.

Vegeta was just able to come to a stop when Bow appeared directly in his path.

The Saiyan's breaths came hard and he was visibly drained as he hovered, hunched and beaten before his foe.

Bow was beaming. His young face grinned back at Vegeta with a wildness in his big, dark eyes that the prince had never seen. He felt the fear mounting in him and he backed away from the mutant.

His back hit something solid. He didn't know it but he'd back right into Buu who had arrived behind him. Vegeta spun around, grimacing. As frightened as he was and he knew he was, he would not show it and he bore his teeth at the bastard who tormented him. But Buu's eyes did not hold the same chaos as Bow's. And he wasn't looking at Vegeta.

"Leave him alone, Bow!" Buu shouted, and if Vegeta wasn't so deliriously frightened and if it wasn't so dim with the setting sun, the Saiyan would have thought that he saw real worry in Buu's eyes.

Vegeta was afraid to turn his back again to either of them so he moved aside to take them both in.

The fire was still blazing in Bow's eyes, Vegeta could see regardless of how dark it had gotten. But the fledgeling didn't say anything. The grin fell from his face and he did not look at Vegeta again.

When Buu was sure that Bow's lust for blood was stifled, he turned to Vegeta.

The look on his face was confusing to the prince and he found himself backing away slightly again.

"Vegeta," he said.

The voice was calm and smooth but for some reason the panic in Vegeta did not subside. He prepared to muster up more energy for another quick blast.

Buu's hand reached out.

"It's alright,"

But Vegeta didn't hear it. His ears were pounding with adrenaline. He threw the blast he had been saving at the two foes and took off with the last of his energy as fast as he could.

He wasn't followed.

When the smoke cleared Bow looked to his master, disgust plain on his face.

Buu watched the form of Vegeta shrink into the distance and lowered his arms.

"We'll let him go for now." he said. He could feel the disappointment radiating from his comrade. He didn't have to look at him to know he was displeased with the form of the Saiyan that was currently vanishing into the horizon.

He knew it was time to explain.

Where would Vegeta go?

He couldn't just keep flying and flying until the whole planet dissolved around him. He needed some place to think. Some place away. Vegeta looked around frantically and with a spark of luck, he spotted what looked like a cave in the middle of a rock canyon. Without a second's more thought he darted down into the rocky bluff.

Darkness. All dark. The only light came from the opening he'd come from and it was getting darker outside.

For a moment Vegeta paced. He ran his hands through his hair and implored himself to think of something.

Finally he sat down against the dimpled rock wall. His arms on his knees, his fingers dug into his hair.

He was still breathing hard. His heart, that seemed to have been beating so fast that it had become one long continuous beat, was just now beginning to slow down.

They hadn't followed him. Was he that fast?

Something gleaming in the corner of the room caught Vegeta's eye.

He glanced over and saw the orange gleam of Dragonballs and then dismissed them, turning back to the ground.

This is ridiculous, Vegeta thought, at his energy level right now, he couldn't have possibly lost them. They had to be playing with him? He felt like he'd been stabbed with an adrenaline shot. When he'd awoken to Buu virtually on top of him, he sprung into action. It was all so fast, it was a blur now. The fight with Bow, Buu standing off watching him, Buu right in front of him, then darkness, then Buu again, blasts of energy, Bow chasing him- hadn't Buu said something to keep Bow away? Vegeta tried to remmeber.

Wait.

The Dragonballs.


	13. A Decision to be Made

**A Decision to be made.**

The Dragon Balls.

Vegeta turned back to the far wall of the room and sure enough, there shone the bright orange gleam of a Dragon Ball.

There shouldn't be Dragon Balls.

He remembered at once that he had dispensed it there for safe keeping in case he had a run-in with the Buus. That explained why it were there. But it didn't explain why it was not dormant. With the Earth's Guardian gone, it should have turned to stone.

Vegeta crossed the dim cave over to the corner where the gleaming orb sat winking at him and he saw that it most certainly was not made of stone.

He picked it up, heavy and solid but real and in its true form!

That could only mean that...well, it had to mean that...

"Vegeta."

The prince whirled around, more than half expecting to see The Guardian standing behind him, a knowing smile on his youthful face and arms outstretched to offer a warm hug. And Vegeta would be damned if he did not collapse right into those healing arms.

But Dende wasn't there. The cave was as empty and hollow as ever.

Had he imagined it?

He looked back at the ball and back around at the cave.

"Dende." He said and surprised himself with how small and hollow his own voice sounded. Was he himself right now? He wouldn't be surprised if he was imagining things after all.

But then he heard it again.

"Vegeta."

He looked down at the Dragon Ball in his hands in alarm. Hesitantly, he leaned in as if the voice had come from within the mystical orb.

"Hello," he said as if testing a microphone. He waited until he felt ridiculous and then suddenly there came a response.

"Vegeta, are you alright?" It was definitely Dende but the voice was not coming from the Dragon Ball. He heard it clearly and in his own mind.

"Dende...where are you?" he called out.

"We're safe, Vegeta."

"Who's we? Who's there with you? Is Bulma there?" Vegeta asked frantically.

"Yes, Bulma is safe. Her parents as well."

Vegeta felt a wave of relief.

"And who else- Krillin, Yamcha?"

"Yes, and Chi-Chi and Mr. Popo, Yajirobe..." Dende went on, "all fine."

"And the people, the children?" Vegeta asked hopefully.

"I took as many as I could," Dende said, and Vegeta did not miss the solemn note in his voice.

A pang of guilt hit the prince in his chest.

"It's alright Vegeta," Dende said after the prince had fallen silent, "there was nothing you could do. We saved as many as we could. Rejoice that we did at least save some. And all is not lost. You are alive as well."

Despite The Guardian's reassuring words, Vegeta felt anything but at ease. He backed stiffly against the cave wall and slid down to the ground. He set the ball aside absently and stared at the ground, his eyes focusing on nothing.

So many had died- because of him, he knew. And as terrible as that was, what stung him most was what he felt now, more than grief over the lost, was relief and joy at hearing the Guardian's voice again.

He'd thought he had lost the Namekian, along with all of the survivors, and not much earlier that day, he had been ready to lay down his life to join them, ready to... The Saiyan flushed, thinking back on what he had done.

"Why did you wait until now to tell me that you lived?" he choked out, his whole frame beginning to shake, "I could have died! Had I known you lived I would not have been so..." he struggled for the words, shame trapping them in his throat.

"I had to wait, Vegeta."

"Wait for what!" he spat, "I would have trudged straight to my death! I would have—had I-" his voice broke off and he felt warm streams running down his face.

"Vegeta, you must understand." Dende persisted calmly, "I had to wait to let you know we lived. It was the only way."

"I thought...I thought I'd killed you." he said and his voice was a breathy whisper. By "you," Vegeta meant everyone of course but of everyone he'd left in the temple, the loss of Dende, who had become his friend and comfort, pained him the very most.

Dende seemed to read his thoughts.

"I know," the healer said softly, "Vegeta. I knew that if you thought we had died, you would resort to the one thing you had refused to do, the one thing that might truly saved us all." he paused, "and you did it."

Vegeta didn't have to ask. The thought made him grimace and flush. He tightly shut his eyes as if it would block out the shameful memory.

Dispite how he fought it, Vegeta's mind went back to what had happened before he blacked out: The foggy image of Buu standing in the dust with his arms crossed as the prince trudged across the plane to meet him. The fledgling's blasts were falling all around him but Vegeta had to get to Buu. When he got there, he did something stupid. He called for Kakarot. As if the Saiyan were somewhere in there just waiting to be summoned. How ridiculous. Vegeta scoffed at his own stupidity. He must have been delirious. He didn't remember much after that.

He dragged his wrist roughly across his nose, mopping up the snot that was running there.

"So what," he said, "it didn't work." He let his head fall back against the rock wall, "Buu's still here. He still has Kakarot's power."

"But Vegeta," said Dende, "it did work."

Vegeta said nothing.

"I know it's hard to believe from what has happened but by simply calling out to Goku, you've set something in motion. You'll see. Buu will start to crumble. You have awoken something within him, whether you see it or not. You have made a difference, Vegeta."

Vegeta didn't see it. And he didn't want to think about it anymore. His mind was wearied and he was talking to a man he thought dead no more than an hour ago, a man he nearly died for.

"I'm alone here." Vegeta said finally.

"This is good Vegeta. You must understand that it's for the best. Now that we're not there to distract him, Buu's attention is fully on you. He can't escape you now."

"I think it's more the other way around." Vegeta huffed.

"He doesn't want to confront you, Vegeta. I think if you look back, you'll realize that he's been avoiding you."

"Yes, fine job he's done of it. Was he avoiding me when he tried to... _kiss_ me at Capsule Corps? And when he did it again just now?"

"Just relax, Vegeta. It will all be fine."

Dende stayed with Vegeta into the night and his gentle voice lured the weary Saiyan safely into sleep. He had no battles in his dreams.

Vegeta awoke to a ache in his lower back where the rock wall jutted into him.

The entrance to the cave glowed with the orange light of the sun. Vegeta was disoriented for a moment.

He glanced around, slowly turning his stiff neck and saw the lone Dragon Ball gleaming with the little light in the space, as if it absorbed it.

Vegeta had not been dreaming.

He'd fought Buu's creation and fled to this cave after Buu destroyed the Look Out and killed...

Vegeta took in a breath and felt a huge crushing weight lifted off of him.

That too surely had not been a dream.

As clear as the Dragon Ball sitting in the corner of the cave, the others were alive! Buu hadn't succeeded in killing them!

He had spoken to Dende and the Namekian had assured him that the others were alive as well.

He began calling out to The Guardian. He wasn't sure if there was some sort of rule to the communication lines. Did Vegeta only have to think of Dende in order to connect with him? Or did he have the power to do it at all? He had certainly never spoken with the Namekian in that way before. After some strained minutes of trying to connect with The Guardian telapathically, the Saiyan decided that it must only work one-way.

After the great comfort of the news from the previous night, Vegeta felt as close to at ease as he'd felt in a while. Starting languidly toward the cave opening, The Prince decided that a stretch would be refreshing and very called for.

Stepping out onto the rocky "porch" that look out over the canyons. The towering walls beams with light from the morning sun. reaching his arms out wide, he took in a great breath. It was a nice day to be the last man on Earth.

"VEGETA!"

The shriek that resounded in his head, nearly toppled the prince off the cliff.

"Vegeta, what are you doing? You have to collect the remaining Dragon Balls! There's no time to waste!"

Vegeta's hands instinctively flew to his pounding ears and he did his best to recoil from the shouting but it was exclusively in his mind and he could not escape it.

"Get that Dragon Radar and get to work, buster! Every day you go without assembling those Dragon Balls is a day wasted! Get moving! The planet is in jeopardy!"

"Gah!"

"Sorry, Vegeta," chimed Dende solemnly, "I tried to tell her you needed more time to rest but she insisted."

"I want my planet back!" Bulma boomed through The Guardian.

Vegeta growled deeply in annoyance.

"Bulma, please, there's no need to shout, he can hear us very well."

Vegeta could imagine without seeing the brazen woman looming over the wincing Guardian, one hand clasping his shoulder painfully, the other balled into a fist ready to throw at anyone who dared deny her her justice.

"Well, I'm glad!" she hooted, "He's been sleeping for nearly 12 hours! Meanwhile, I don't even know what planet I'm on!"

"Ssssh, Bulma. I had to pick a system distant enough for us not to be traced. It had to appear that we were wiped from existence."

Vegeta massaged his aching temples, the scenery suddenly doing nothing for him.

"Well I feel wiped from existence! Listen, Vegeta, the sooner you find those Dragon Balls, the sooner we can get off this dead planet! There's nothing but ticks and sludge here!"

"Those aren't ticks!" Dende defended, "those are the inhabitants of this planet. And if you would just try the 'sludge' you would see it's very filling and full of nutrients."

"Not happening."

"Enough!" Vegeta howled into the canyon. Birds nesting in the rock walls took flight. He was through with being forced to play audience to the bickering pair, "You will attempt to send me errands now from the next galaxy over?" He barked, "Why don't you mind your own planet!"

Bulma huffed loudly and, to Vegeta's irritation, the visual of her tossing her bangs dismissively registered from across the galaxy.

"Oh! An errand! Saving the world is an '_errand?_'" she shot.

"Get out of my head, woman!"

The married couple's argument escalated while Dende did his best to mediate. Eventually, the passive guardian was forced to pry Bulma from the connection to prevent things from getting too far off topic.

"Vegeta," Dende said. His voice was back to it's gentle, soothing tone and Vegeta guessed that the peaceful Namekian had put some distance between himself and the fired-up woman, "The Dragon Balls are always available to aid," he continued, "but I urge you to consider what we talked about. I know that with just a little time, the presence of Goku within Buu will have become too strong to contain and he will begin to destroy himself from the inside."

"Do we even have time?"

Dende paused.

"I don't know," he said truthfully, "but I feel with all my being that it is our surest chance. Hey- stop that! Bulma! Cut it out!"

Vegeta heard some rustling and it seemed like The Guardian was having a struggle of some kind.

"No- Bulma! I mean it- Vegeta, I gotta go."

With that, The Guardian was gone again. Vegeta hadn't had time to say more. He didn't know what he would have said, but he knew that he didn't feel any less conflicted after that conversation.

The groggy prince receded back into the cave. The single Dragon ball sat in the corner gleaming at him invitingly. He considered it a moment. He turned to look out the bright opening of the cave. He looked again to the Dragon Ball.

The Saiyan did a quick calculation:

Wish one: Wish Kakarotto out of Buu.

Wish two: Wish all those killed by the Buus back to life.

Wish three: Wish the others back to Earth.

He visioned this in his mind and weighed it.

He did another calculation:

Wish one: Immortality.

Wish two: Wish all those killed by the Buus back to life.

Wish three: Wish memories away.

Vegeta allowed himself the momentary indulgence. But Vegeta had witnessed and learned throught the years that heroes could not be selfish. The weathered prince wondered before he could stop himself whether Kakarotto had ever thought of wishing anything for himself. Then he shoved the thought away. The oaf had a way of creeping into his thoughts when he wasn't wanted.

_You aren't helping, Kakarotto_.

Vegeta knew he could go one of two ways: He could either swallow his pride, summon the dragon and wish Kakarotto out of Buu so that the mutant would be drastically weaker and therefore beatable. However, from what Vegeta understood, his personality would also be drastically different and he would not be the same Buu that had drawn out the Saiyan's slow and terrible torture in the grove that day. _That_ Buu will have 'gotten away' in a sense, never to return, and so Vegeta would never have his vengeance; _Or_ there was the other way: Vegeta could do what Dende had been urging him to do all along and destroy Buu from within using his relationship with Kakarotto. The idea made Vegeta feel ill. His whole being recoiled from the idea of facing Buu in any way that was not hostile.

Vegeta would never understand The Guardian's unwavering certainly, but there was no doubt that the Saiyan was drawn to it. If Dende was right, then Buu was already crumbling, and Vegeta's mere presence was a daily assault to him. All Vegeta would need to do was give him a push.

But could he face Buu again? After all that had happened. Was it disgust and revulsion that kept him away? Or, when Vegeta looked deep into himself, would he see that it was fear. Fear of Buu? Fear of what Kakarotot had changed in Buu? Why couldn't he just fight him like a normal foe? What scared Vegeta most was what every meeting with the tyrant did to his mind. Injuries could heal, no matter how deep, but Buu had a way of getting inside the Saiyan and tormenting him long after the physical damage was done.

The toughest part of the Dragon Ball rout was shoving his own pride aside. No small feat on its own. However, going into psychological warfare with Buu was another challenge entirely.

Vegeta had a decision to make.


	14. The Proposal

**The Proposal**

The air was humid and carried the heat like a sponge.

Vegeta tried to remeber the location of the cave as he drew nearer to the jagged canyons. Dende's Lookout had always been a faithful landmark for him but it was gone now. His eyes instinctively found the dusty spot in the sky where the great temple once stood. The jagged-edged pole on which the temple once perched still jutted out uselessly into the atmosphere, but now had nothing to connect to. It was shorter than it was when he'd last seen it. It was slowly breaking off as if it was the Temple that held it there and not the other way around.

Vegeta tore his eyes away from it.

He still felt a sting of pain when his thoughts drifted to The Lookout and it's preventable last moments. Dende had told him it was inevitable, that it was only a matter of time until Buu payed them a visit, but still Vegeta felt responsible. He wasn't there. The last Saiyan and Z fighter and perhaps now Earth's only hero, had run off to get some alone time.

_Stupid_, Vegeta cursed himself.

It did ease his burden a measure however when he learned that the Guardian lived, along with a handful of the Earthlings, having been transported by Dende at the last second to a distant planet, far from Buu's detection.

There were still countless others who had met their firey ends at the hand of the spiteful mutant though and Vegeta wore that burden constantly. But now wasn't the time for mourning. Now was the time for action, and Vegeta had made his decision.

There were two weights tugging at his pants, the weight of the Dragon Radar and the marbel heaviness of a second Dragon Ball. That morning, the Saiyan had made his steady way back in the direction of Bulma's abandoned flyer to retrieve the discarded Dragon Radar. It was vaguely in the same direction as the Buus' but Vegeta flew at such a subdued speed that he hoped he would not draw attention to himself. He felt nearly as weak as the day after The Grove. He doubted he could manage flying much faster if he wanted to. Luckily, he ran into no one. When he'd finally found the grassy forest where Bulma's craft had landed, he saw the discarded radar beeping away rapidly. Bulma must have been closing in on the next Dragon Ball when Buu found her.

Now, Vegeta flew back to the cave with both Dragon Ball and Radar in hand and there was still no sign of the Buu's.

He hadn't seen them in days in fact. The day after the battle, Vegeta journed back to the toppled remains of Capsule Corporation to locate some more of his clothes. The Saiyan's specially designed clothes were not easily destroyed, so he found them in good condition and took them back to the cave with him. He was sure that day that he would run into at least one of the Buu's, but he didn't then either.

Landing lightly in the dimly lit cave, Vegeta set the second Dragonball down with little care next to the first and his eyes scanned the Radar without a second look back at the dismissed orange orbs.

The Saiyan was ready to complete this task. The less time he spent thinking about it, the better. He knew the more he reflected on what he was doing, the more he detested it. He had to do it though. As much as he hated the idea of wishing out Kakarotto instead of beating him, the alternative was far more repulsive. He would avoid Buu and his fledgeling at whatever cost.

Vegeta zoomed out on the radar screen. The next Dragon Ball was located in a large body of water nearly 2,000 kilometers west of there. He guessed he would make it there and back by nightfall if he quickened his pace slightly. He didn't like to think about it, but the idea of being out after nightfall and not knowing where the Buus were made him anxious. They hadn't made an appearance in a few days and he knew it wasn't in Buu to just leave the Saiyan alone.

He set out for the next Dragon Ball.

The lake was large and the heart of it was deeper than Vegeta had anticipated. He had to come up for air three times before he was able to locate it. It was gleaming and otherworldly in the black pit of the lake. Its glow was nearly hidden by the slowly swaying weeds covering the lake bed.

It was always the _bottom_ of a lake where you would find the Dragon Ball, Vegeta mused, or the _summit_ of the mountain, or the mouth of the volcano. You could never find one washed up on a tropical beach, or rolling around a hill somewhere. But that was the nature of the Dragon Balls. They couldn't be too easy to find.

He dislodged the glowing orb from the twisted reeves that seemed to cling to it covetously. Large fish and other mysterious creatures of the deep began to stir as if awoken by the movement of the Dragon Ball. They sprung from the darkness and tried to block his ascent back to the surface but, while they might have given a human trouble, Vegeta avoided them easily enough.

He broke through the surface of the lake with a deep intake of air, and glided to the shore. Three down.

He landed and seated himself in the sand. The sun was setting on the other side of the great, expansive lake. He watched it, catching his breath, but didn't feel rushed for once. It was so quiet.

As he began to relax, Vegeta thought that it even looked beautiful.

"Should I leave it for you, Prince."

Vegeta turned suddenly and saw Buu leaning against a tree. He rose to his feet at once.

"The sun, I mean." the mutant continued casually, "I'll leave it there, if you enjoy it. If I turn everything else in this dull universe to ash, that sun will be left for your enjoyment alone."

Vegeta didn't hear the words and his eyes darted from Buu to the many trees behind him as if someone else would emerge from them next.

"My fledgeling is not here." Buu replied, noticing the shifting gaze, "and he won't bother you anymore- unless I say, " he added with a small grin, "only kidding. We both agree that it isn't nice to bully a potential friend."

Vegeta's eyes stopped scanning and he eyed Buu, confusion growing clear on his hostile features.

"Yes," Buu said, understanding Vegeta's skepticism, "hard to trust me," he looked down and seemed to be kicking at something, and when he met Vegeta's eyes again, there was an imploring sincerity there that caught him off guard, "We are very alike, you and I." he continued, "I think it's time we stopped fighting each other."

Buu kicked off of the tree and Vegeta almost braced for an attack. But the relaxed mutant only turned and descended back into the woods.

"Think it over." he called over his shoulder, "You'll find us outside of your metropolis." He stopped a moment. "Oh and Vegeta, you have until mid-day. If you don't show, then we'll find you."

And the Buu was gone.

Vegeta hadn't even sensed him.

The Saiyan almost screamed in frustration and he would have if he didn't fear the mutants was still nearby.

Did they always know where he was? And what was he saying? A potential friend...

Vegeta was in the air with the radar and Dragon Ball and heading back toward the cave. Then he stopped, frozen above the treeline.

Did they know where the cave was too?

Shit.

"Dende!" He shouted, hurling the Dragon Ball into a corner of the cave with the rest, "What do I do now, Guardian!" he was seething and his voice was like a roar that echoed off the jagged walls and howled into the night.

"Dende!" He punched a wall of the cave and made a meteoric crater where his fist hit, "What is your counsel for this, Namekian!" His fists were clenched and his power rose up around him, threatening the rock walls.

A small and steady voice eventually answered him and it sounded like it came from the end of a long hallway, "the decision has been made for you." it said.

"What!" Vegeta spat incredulously at the bodiless entity, "You're damn right! What about the Dragon Balls? What about wishing Kakarotto out? You were all so damn certain!"

"We were not quick enough, Vegeta," came the solemn voice.

"Too late," Vegeta hissed, the contrast of his boundless rage against The Guardian's impenetrable calm only served to infuriate the Saiyan more.

"Listen, Vegeta," began Dende.

"No!" Vegeta roared, "I am through listening to your advise! Your advise has gotten me here. They know where I am! There is no hiding from them any longer. I have until mid-day tomorrow before I have to face them again, do you understand? What can you possibly tell me now?"

"Vegeta," The Guardian said, voice rising to the antagonizing Saiyan, "you fear this and you dread this but it is always what had to be done. You alone can beat Buu. You must face him, though you do not want to- It must be done. This was always the way. This was always what had to be done."

Vegeta was silent and his power fell.

"I will be with you." Dende added, and he did sound sorry.

Vegeta sank to the ground.

Buu sat with his legs propped on a block of rubble, rolling three stones around in his hand. He watched the sky and waited for the sun to rise.


End file.
